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\ 
WATCHMAKER'S AND JEWELER'S 

Practical Hand Book 



A RELIABLE COMPENDIUM OF VALUABLE RECEIPTS AND 

SUGGESTIONS, CAREFULLY SELECTED FROM PRIVATE 

FORMULAE, AND THE BEST AUTHORITIES. 



/"' EDITED AND COMPILED BY 

HENRY G. ABBOTT 



1 



Fifth Edition, Revised and Enlarged. 51 Illustrations. 



CHICAGO : 
Geo. K. Hazlitt & Co., Publishers. 

1S93. 



1 : 



COPYRIGHT lSQ2 
HY GEO. K. KAZLITT & CO. 



/ 



PREFACE. 



'THE plates of the Watchmakers' and Jewelers' 
Practical Hand Book having become so worn in 
the printing of former editions that it has become 
necessarv to consign them to the " waste heap," I 
decided to improve the opportunity to thoroughly 
revise the work. Nearly every page has been 
entirely rewritten and I believe that the work as 
a whole is a great improvement over former editions. 
In the matter of illustrations alone a decided 
improvement will be observed when compared with 
other editions. All diagram cuts have been dis- 
carded and in their place have been substituted 
photo-engravings made direct from my drawings, 
which I have aimed to make in their proper propor- 
tions. In some instances these illustrations are 
somewhat smaller than I should have liked them 
had I the necessary space at my command. 

In presenting the following pages I wish to frankly 
state that I claim no credit for originality ; many 
original ideas will be found in these pages, but the 
greater part of the matter has been compiled from 
the best text books of the day, from magazine arti- 
cles and from suggestions and hints furnished by 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

friends in the trade. The works of Saunier, Gross- 
man, Glasgow, Reid and others have been drawn 
upon largely for the information here given. My 
aim has been to supply the student with an elemen- 
tary work from which he may derive a good insight 
into the various principles of performing various 
kinds of work, and at the same time to supply the 
practical man at the bench with a handy reference 
work. 

My aim has been to present to my readers the most 
improved processes of doing work, and at the same 
time to make myself understood, and this informa- 
tion has been compiled from many and various 
sources. Many of the tools and processes described 
have been common in watch factory work for many 
years, but are comparatively unknown to the average 
watch repairer at the bench. Much of this informa- 
tion has cost the watch factories of the United States 
thousands of dollars to acquire, through the pay- 
ment of large salaries and the building of experi- 
mental tools and machinery. 

With these few remarks the author leaves this 
little volume to speak for itself and trusts that every 
reader may find something of value within its covers 
to compensate him for his time in perusing it and the 
small outlay in its purchase. 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Adjustment Heater 72 

Alcohol Lamp.. 50 

Aluminium. 29 

Annealing- Staff. 104 

Bench 47 

Bezel Chuck 74 

Bluing Steel 25 

Bow Pens 15 

Broaches -. 56 

to Solder 56 

Broaching Vertically 56 

Bronzes, to Clean 116 

Bronzing Steel 25 

Broken Screws, to Remove 97 

Bushing Wheels 108 

to Fit 102 

Canon Pinion, to Tighten 105 

Cement Chucks 36,75 

Watchmaker's 35 

Centering Took. 54 

Chalk, to Prepare 113 

Chuck, Bezel 74 

Jewel 66 

Step 83 

Wheel 83 

Circular Oil Stoves 52 

Cleaning Nickel Move- 
ments.... 27 



PAGE 

Clocks, Gilt to Clean 113 

Copper 25 

Curves 13 

Cutting Screw Threads... 97 
Cutters for Screw Head 

Sinks 67 

Cutting Tools, to Sharpen 46 
Cylinder Pivots 100 

Dials, Silver, to Whiten.. 95 

to Drill 95 

to Remove Name 

from 9 

to Remove Stains 

from -. 94 

Dissolving Soft Solder 33 

Douzieme 8S 

Drawing 9 

Drawing Boards. 16 

Pens 14 

Drills and Drilling 90 

Drill Rests 65 

Drills, to Temper 115 

Elevation - 9 

Eye Glass 37 

Files 53 

to Clean 54 

Filing Block , 77 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Filing, Flat 41 

Rest 83 

Square Holes 44 

Fluxes for Soldering 32 

Gauge, Douzieme 88 

Staff 84 

German Silver 28 

Gold Solders 31 

Springs.... 93 

Graver, Uses of 44 

to Sharpen 46 

Hairsprings, to Prevent 

Rust of 94 

Hand Tongs 70 

Hands, to Fit 95 

Hard Solders 30 

Hard Steel, to Drill 115 

Jewel Chucks 66 

Pin Setter 74 

Settings to Polish.. 110 
New 110 

Lamp, Alcohol 50 

Student 50 

Lathes 57 

Lathe Wax 35 

Length of Staff. 103 

Light and Position 37 

Mainspring Winder 71 

Marble Cases, to Clean.. 115 



PAGE. 

Nickel 27 

to Restore Color of. 27 

Oil Stones 51 

Circular 52 

Oil Sinks 97 

Parallel Rules 14 

Pearls, to Clean 116 

to Drill 116 

Pinions, Worn, to Remedy 105 

Pivots, Cylinder 100 

Friction of 101 

Stateof 100 

to Polish 99 

Pivot Drills 90 

Polishers 79 

Polishing Steel 23 

Wheels 107 

Plan 10 

Preparing Articles for 

Soldering 32 

Proportional Compasses.. 15 
Protractor 12 

Relation of Spring and 
Barrel 93 

RepairClamps 34 

Rose Cutter 112 

Rounding-up Attachment. 77 
Ruby Pins, to Tighten... 110 

Rust, to Remove 105 

Rusting of SteeL 24 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Rusty H a i r s p r i ngs, to 
Avoid 94 

Saw Arbor 79 

Screw Head Sink Cutters. 67 

Tailstock 82 

Threads, to Cut 97 

Second-Hand Holder 71 

Shape of Pivots 100 

Show Windows to Pre- 
vent Sweating 114 

Silver Dials, to Whiten... 95 

German 28 

Solders 31 

to Remove Ink 

Stains from 114 

SoftSolders 31 

to Dissolve... 33 

Soldering Clamps 34 

Fluxes 32 

Stay Springs... 33 

Tweezers 35 

Solders and Soldering 30 

Gold 31 

Hard 30 

Silver 31 

Soft 31 

Spickerman Cement Chuck 76 

Springs, Gold 93 

to Soften 93 

Staff Gauge 84 

Length of 103 

to Anneal 104 



PAGE. 

Stay Spring, to Solder 33 

Steel 19 

Flat Polish of 23 

Hard, to Drill...... 115 

Polishing 23 

to Anneal 21 

to Bend 20 

to Blue 25 

to Bronze 25 

to Draw Temper from 21 
to Protect Against 

Rust 24 

to Restore Burnt 22 

to Remove Rust 

from 24 

to Soften 22 

to Work 21 

Step Chucks 83 

Tailstock, Screw 82 

Traverse 82 

Teeth in Wheels 106 

Tempering Drills 115 

Tin 26 

Tools, to Mark 112 

Triangles 13 

T Squares 16 

Tweezers, Soldering 35 

Twist Drills 90 

Watch Cases, to Clean... 114 
Glasses, to Reduce 
Diameter of 96 



INDEX. 



PAGE. PAGE. 

Watch Jewels, to Test... 109 Wheels, to Grind 109 

Watchmaker's Cement... 35 to Polish 107 

Wheel Chucks 83 Worn Pinions, to Remedy 105 

Wheels, to Bush 108 Zinc 26 



WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS' 

Practical Hand Book. 



PART I. 



DRAWING AND DRAWING INSTRUMENTS. 

A KNOWLEDGE of arithmetic, geometry and 
drawing are all essential to the young man who 
hopes to become proficient in the art of watchmak- 
ing, and if he is deficient in knowledge in these 
branches, the sooner he purchases the necessary text 
books and starts to master them the better. Saunier 
very aptly says, that every watchmaker worthy of 
the name should be able to make and to understand 
the drawing of a machine or of any horological 
instrument. Many inventors, and even ordinary 
workmen, would avoid a large amount of handwork, 
often useless, and occupying much time, if, instead 
of at once putting an idea into practice with brass and 
steel, they were able, as a preliminary, to make for 
themselves a correct design, drawn to scale. The 
representation on paper of the side view of an object 
or its projection on a vertical plane is known as an 
elevation, while the projection on a horizontal plane 

2 9 



io watchmakers' and jewelers' 

or a view of the object as seen from above is known 
as a j>lan. A section is a view of a body as it would 
appear if cut in two and one portion removed in order 
to expose the interior. A section is usually indi- 
cated by a series of parallel lines drawn close to- 
gether and at an angle of about 45 to the vertical, 



Fig. 1 
as shown in Fig.i. Drawings are sometimes made 
however, in what is known as diagram style, in which 
no parallel lines are used in showing a body in sec- 
tion, and interior cavities are represented by dotted 
lines a6 shown in Fig. 2. The continuation of the 
outline of an object which passes behind or into an- 
^^x\ other object is usually in- 

,,,4 a „,„,Ji dicated by dotted lines as 

j shown in Fig. 2. In the 

-■ '-■:- — • ". — ' shading of projecting objects 

"'--V it is usual to assume that 

Fig. 2. the light falls upon the 

object from the upper left hand corner of the 

paper and the same rule is usually followed in 

indicating depressions or cavities. A glance at Fig. 




PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. II 

3 will be sufficient to show that the circle at A rep- 
resents a hole or cavity, while B indicates the head 
of a screw. At A the shade falls at the upper left 
hand side while at B it falls at the lower right hand 
side. Sometimes in order to show objects which 
are behind others and in order to convey an idea 
both of the section and elevation at the same time 
a piece is represented as broken off, 
as shown at A, Fig. i. In other 
cases objects are shown as broken 
ff because it is unnecessary to 
prolong their length or width in 
Fig. 3. order to convey the idea desired, as 

at the left hand side of Fig. 2 or as is often seen in 
illustrations of articles having long handles, legs, 
etc., the handles or legs being represented as broken 
off. 

A good quality of light weight card-board will be 
found superior to paper for watchmakers use. The 
designs should be first drawn lightly with a lead pen- 
cil, and then gone ®ver carefully with India ink, 
after which all remaining traces of the pencil and 
finger marks, etc., may be removed by means of India 
rubber or stale bread. A number 4 Faber pencil and 
prepared liquid India ink, will be found the most 
convenient and desirable. If you desire, however, 
you may prepare your own ink by grinding the sticks 



12 WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS 

with water. Drawings made in India ink are per- 
manent, and are % not liable to become obliterated by 
constant handling as are those made with a lead pen- 
cil. About all the instruments that a watchmaker 
will require for his drawings are, a good ruler, a tri- 
angle, T-square, a drawing pen, combination com- 
passes, to take bow-pen and pencil, a few crow-quill 
steel pens, a protractor, a drawing board and some 
thumb tacks. 

There are many other instruments that will be 
found very useful as you progress, but many of them 
can be made by the ingenious watchmaker for con- 
siderably less than he can purchase them, and at the 
same time the experience gained in their making will 
prove valuable to him. 

The Protractor. The protractor is made of various 
substances, horn, hard rubber, celluloid, brass and 
German silver, and the patterns vary as much as do 
the materials. Fig. 4 reper- 
sents a common form of the 
instrument. A complete cir- 
cle consists of 360 and pro- 
tractors are sometimes made 
in this form, having a bar 
across the center for the pur- ig ' 

pose of indicating the center of the arc. In the style 
shown in Fig. 4 the arc is divided into 180 , or 




PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



13 



one-half a circle. The protractor is used for determin- 
ing and for drawing angles of various degrees. The 
workman can easily make a good protractor from a 
piece of sheet brass, but care must be taken in laying 
out the degrees, and as they can be purchased for 25 
cents upward, it is seldom worth while to make them. 
Triangles. Triangles similar to Fig. 5, are made 
in wood, celluloid, hard rub- 
ber, German silver and steel. 
The ingenious workman 
will do well to make a set 
of at least three triangles of 
various sizes and various 
pitches, say one 45 degrees, 
as per cut, and one 30 and 
60 degrees, and 3, 4 and 6 
Fig. 5. inches long. 

Curves. Celluloid, pear wood or hard rubber 
curves, like hose shown in 
Fig. 6, will also be found 
very useful by the young 
draftsman, as with them he 
can do much better work 
than he otherwise could. 
These curves, in all shapes 
and sizes, may be generally 
purchased at artists' supply depot 





14 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

Parallel Rules. In rulers, the parallel is perhaps 
the best pattern to purchase, as with it you can more 
easily rule a considerable number of lines truly par- 
allel and also are able to keep them more nearly an 
equal distance apart. This form of rule is shown in 
Fig. 7, and from the figure the student can readily 




Fig. 7. 

infer the method of using it. The T-square is first 
set against the edge of the drawing board and at the 
proper place, and the parallel rule is then laid against 
it, the arms being first separated. After drawing a 
line the arms are drawn together the required 
amount to produce the desired space between the 
lines and another line is drawn. As the rules are 
connected by swivelled arms, the lines must of 
necessity be parallel. 

Drawing Pens, Etc. The drawing pen, bow pen, 
combination compasses, etc., are too well known to 
need description, but for the benefit of the ama- 
teur who has no knowledge of these instruments, 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



*5 




illustrations are given, Fig. S being a bow pen, and 
Fig, 9 combination compasses. These 
tools will be all that it is necessary for 
the amateur draftsman to have in order 
to make intelligent drawings, but there 
are many other instru- 
ments and devices that 
will be found useful 
as you progress in the 
art. Many of these you 
can make for yourself, 
if you are so inclined, 
as for example the pro- 
portional compasses. 

Proportional Compasses. These 

instruments, which are also known 
under the name of proportional 
dividers, will be found very useful 
in making enlarged or reduced draw- 
ings in which it is essential to main- 
tain the relative proportions of the 
original. They consist of two equal 
legs terminating in points as shown 
in Fig. 10. The legs are cut through for a portion 
of their length, and are provided with a slide which 
acts as a hinge, and which can be clamped in 
any desired position by means of a set screw. 



Fig. 8. 




Fig. 9. 



i6 



WATCHMAKERS AND JEWELERS 



Graduations are marked upon the edges of the slots 
so that the legs may be set, so that the upper or 
smaller ones will measure J^j, %, 
*>£, etc., of the lower ones. 

The T-Square. In T-squares, 
perhaps the best for all round uses 
is the pattern known as the patent 
unique square, which is illustrated 
in Fig. 11, as it combines all the 
advantages of the ordinary square 
with fixed head, while it is also 
very useful for diagonal lining 
of all kinds. By marking a scale 
on the edge of your drawing board, 
and another on the inner edge of 
the head, similar to the vernier, 
the distances between lines can be 
made very accurate and can be 
brought down as fine as ^ z of an inch without trouble. 

Drawing Board. The 

drawing board should be 
made of sound, well sea 
soned wood, preferably 
pine, as the thumb tacks 
may be more readily in- 
serted and removed from 
pine than hardwood, and 





Fig. 11. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



17 



should be at least 18x22 inches. It should have 
mortised cleats upon both ends, as shown in Fig. 12, 
in order to prevent the board from cracking or curl- 




Fig. 12. 
ing, and if of large size, all the pieces of the center 
should be glued with the heart side uppermost, 
to prevent warping. 

The student having provided himself with the 
above supplies should then purchase an elementary 
work on mechanical or scale drawing, and with 
practice he will soon be able to produce creditable 
drawings of his proposed work. 



PART II. 

MATERIALS EMPLOYED BT WATCHMAKERS, 
THEIR TREATMENT AND APPLICATION. 

Steel. Steel may be regarded as a compound of 
iron and carbon, generally speaking; though other 
substances, such as silicon, etc., may be present in 
very small quantities. It exhibits a great variety of 
textures and degrees of hardness, some being very 
soft, others extremely hard. The crystalline struc- 
ture also varies greatly ; some are fine and close, 
others are very open, coarse and porous. These 
qualities fit it for a great number of uses in diversi- 
fied situations, and it is of the highest importance 
that the steel used should be adapted to the par- 
ticular requirements. 

The young watchmaker should accustom himself 
to study the different varieties of steel he is working. 
He will thus be able to select the proper variety of 
•teel for any particular purpose when called upon to 
do new work, or to make parts which can not be pur- 
chased from material dealers. He should also ob- 
serve closely the changes taking place during the 
operations of hardening, annealing and tempering, 
that he may know how to conduct them properly. 

19 



20 WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS' 

For most horological purposes, such as making 
pinions, pivots, staffs, etc., cast steel is preferred, be- 
cause it can be highly polished, turned perfectly 
round and does not get distorted in smoothing. 

Steel for cylinder escapements should be drawn. 
The reason is that the greater ductility of drawn 
steel renders it less liable to crack in hardening. 

To Bend Tempered Steel. It very frequently hap- 
pens to the repairer that he desires to bend a spring, 
but fearing the risk of breaking it, abandons the idea. 
In such a case the following hint may be useful : 
Suppose it is desirable to bend a side click spring of 
a Swiss bridge watch, which, by the way, is generally 
made of poor steel. Lay hold of the end in which 
the screw goes with a pair of brass- nosed sliding 
tongs, holding it in the left hand ; then press a piece 
of brass against the click, bending it in the direction 
desired, and, at the same time, holding it over the 
flame of a spirit lamp until the center or spring part 
becomes a straw or dark red color. This will have 
the desired effect. The fact that spring-tempered 
steel is brought to a dark red blue twenty times over, 
will not reduce it below its former temper; on the 
contrary, it will tend to equalize and improve the 
temper and render it less liable to break. Again, 
suppose a cylinder pivot, or any pivot on any of the 
escapement parts are bent and you wish to straighten 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 21 

it by this process: Take a small brass bushing, fit it 
to the pivot and hold over the flame of the lamp, 
bending it at the same time in the desired direction. 

To Anneal Hardened Steel. It may sometimes 

happen, that hardened steel parts require a few finish- 
ing touches, which can not be done because they are 
too hard and their polish would be ruined by anneal- 
ing them, because it turns blue, and the piece then 
requires renewed polish, which consumes a great 
deal of time. The most practical way then is to 
cover the steel part with the oily dirt from the oil- 
stone, after which it can be annealed with impunity, 
that is, the flame is, with the blow- pipe, directed to 
the point required. The article is afterward cleansed 
in benzine. 

To Work Hard Steel. If steel is rather hard under 
the hammer, when heated to the proper cherry red, 
it may be covered with salt and hammered to about 
the shape desired. More softness can then be ob- 
tained, if required to give a further finish to the 
shape, by sprinkling it with a mixture of salt, blue 
vitriol, sal-ammoniac, saltpeter and alum, made 
cherry red again, sprinkled with this mixture, and 
hammered into shape. This process may be repeated 
until entirely finished. When ready, the steel is 
hardened in a solution of the same mixture. This 
method is recommended by prominent workers. 



22 WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS' 

To Draw Temper From Small Steel Pieces. Place 

the articles from which you deeire to draw the tem- 
per into a common iron clock key. Fill around it 
with brass or iron filings, and then plug up the open 
end with a steel, iron or brass plug, made to fit 
closely. Take the handle of the key with your 
plyers and hold its pipe into the blaze of a lamp 
until red hot, and then let it cool gradually. When 
sufficiently cold to handle, remove the plug, and you 
will find the article with its temper fully drawn, 
but in all other respects just as it was before. The 
reason for having the article thus plugged up while 
passing it through the heating and cooling pro- 
cess, is that springing always results from the 
action of changeable currents of atmosphere. The 
temper may be drawn from cylinders, staffs, pinions, 
or any other delicate pieces by this same method 
with perfect safety. 

TO Restore Burnt Steel. Borax, 3 ozs. ; sal-ammo- 
niac, 8 ozs ; prussiate of potash, 3 ozs.; blue clay, 2 
ozs.; resin, 3^ pound; water, 1 gill; alcohol, 1 gill. 
Put all on the fire and simmer till it dries to a pow- 
der. The steel is to be heated, dipped in this powder, 
and afterward hammered. 

To Soften Steel. Heat it brown red, and plunge it 
in soft water; river water is best. Do not heat over 
red brown, however,' else it becomes hard when 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 23 

plunged. But if you plunge it as soon as it turns 
red the steel will be soft enough to cut with 
ease. 

Flat Polish of Steel Work. To polish such parts as 
rollers and collets, first get a flat surface, by rubbing 
with fine emery on a glass plate or a bell-metal block, 
and afterward finish off on a zinc block with diaman- 
tine; but for levers, you must use a long, flat bell- 
metal or zinc polisher, and press the lever into a 
piece of soft wood (willow is the best) in the vise, 
moving the polisher instead of the work. For large 
articles, such as indexes or repeater racks, which are 
not solid, and spring, it will be found best to wax 
them on to a small brass block and polish them 
underhand, in the same manner as rollers. 

Polishing Steel. If the steel is of moderately 
good temper, use a zinc polisher with diamantine; a 
tin polisher is better for soft steel. The diamantine 
should be mixed on glass, using a beater, also of 
glass, with very little watch oil. Diamantine mixed 
with oil becomes gummy, and quite unfit in a day or 
two, and turns black, if brought into contact with 
metal, in mixing. 

To Polish Steel. Take crocus of tin oxide, and 
graduate it in the same way as preparing diamond 
dust, and apply it to the steel by means of a piece of 
soft iron or bell metal, made in proper form, and 



24 WATCHMAKERS AND JEWELERS 

prepared with flour of emery, same as for pivot 
burnishers; use the coarsest of the crocus first, and 
finish off with the finest. To iron or soft steel a bet- 
ter finish may be given by burnishing than can be 
imparted by the use of polishing powder of any kind 
whatever. The German method of polishing steel 
is performed by the use of crocus on a buff wheel. 
Nothing can exceed the surpassing beauty imparted 
to steel or even cast iron by this process. 

To Remove Rust from Steel. For cleaning pur- 
poses, etc., kerosene oil or benzine are probably the 
best things known. When articles have become 
pitted by rust, however, these can only be removed 
by mechanical means, such as scouring with fine 
powder, or flour of emery and oil, or with very fine 
emery paper. To prevent steel from rusting, rub it 
with a mixture of lime and oil, or with mercurial 
ointment, either of which will be found valuable. 

To Protect Steel. After having cleaned the iron 
or steel article, anoint it with a solution of wax in 
benzine, using a fine camel's hair brush. By this 
treatment, articles exposed to acid vapors, may be 
protected against rusting. Another method is to 
cover the steel or iron with a layer of a mixture 
obtained by boiling sulphur with turpentine oil; 
this evaporates and leaves the sulphur upon the 
surface as pure sulphur, which again combines with 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOR. 2$ 

the metal and forms sulphuret of iron, by heating 
the articles, if small, over a gas or alcohol flame. 

TO Blue Steel. In order to blue steel pieces evenly, 
the following will give satisfactory results: First, 
blue the object without any special regard to uni- 
formity of color. If it proves to be imperfect, take 
a piece of deadwood that does not crumble too easily, 
or of clean pith, and whiten the surface with rouge 
without letting it be too dry. Small pieces thus pre- 
pared, if cleaned and blued with care, will assume a 
very uniform tint. 

To Bronze Steel. Methylated spirit, i pint; gum 
shellac, 4 ounces; gum benzoine, J^j ounce. Set the 
bottle in a warm place, and occasionally agitate. 
When dissolved, decant the clear part for fine work, 
and strain the dregs through muslin. Now take 4 
ounces powdered bronze green, varying the color 
with yellow ochre, red ochre and lamp black, as may 
be desired. Mix the bronze powder with the above 
varnish in quantities to 6uit, and apply to the work, 
after previously cleansing and warming the articles, 
giving them a second coat, and touching off with 
gold powder, if required, previous to varnishing. 

Copper. The only use made of pure copper in 
horology is for the construction of compensation 
pendulums, as wire in electric clocks, and as a base 
for receiving the enamel for watch dials. It is the 



26 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

only satisfactory metal for this purpose, as its ratio 
of expansion and contraction is the same as that of 
the enamel, and consequently the latter will not 
scale or crack off. Pure copper, although very soft, 
is difficult to work with the graver or file, as it is so 
tough that it will throw up a burr instead of coming 
away with the tool. 

Zinc. Zinc, formerly called spelter, is an elemen- 
tary metallic body of coarse grain, brittle and show- 
ing a bluish white color when fractured. It is used 
in the form of rods for compensating pendulums. 
It is brittle at 32 F , malleable at 200 F. and brittle 
at 400 F. It melts at 420° F. and burns with a 
green flame at red heat, forming oxide of zinc. It is 
annealed in boiling water. Commercial zinc gener- 
ally contains lead, arsenic and traces of iron, all of 
which contribute to render it brittle. Pure zinc 
should not be melted in iron ladles, as it will take up 
enough iron to injure its malleability ; fire clay or 
plumbago crucibles are generally used when it is 
desired to keep the metal pure- It shrinks at the 
moment of crystallization, and hence will not make 
a sharp casting." 

Tin. Tin is a white metal, soft, with a rather 
coarse and glistening fracture. It is used for making 
solder and, in the shape of small rods, for polishing 
with rouge. For this purpose it is much more 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 27 

efficient when pure, or nearly so. The readiest way to 
judge of its purity is to melt a piece and cast it in a 
small mold about ^ of an inch in width or diame- 
ter. After melting and pouring, watch the metal 
while cooling; if pure it will harden perfectly smooth 
without exhibiting any signs of crystallization at the 
moment of solidification, while thepresenceof small 
quantities of foreign metals causes it to be covered 
with a network of needlelike crystals, which are the 
more numerous as the metal is less pure. 

Nickel. Nickel is a grayish white metal, about as 
hard as iron and capable of a high polish. It resists 
oxidation unless in the presence of moisture, when it 
forms a reddish oxide. It ranks next to iron in 
magnetic qualities. It is much used in plating, and 
also in alloys, with iron, copper, zinc, tin and anti- 
mony. By the addition of ^ to ^ of magnesium, 
or of T 2 Q of phosphorous, nickle becomes malleable 
and ductile and is rolled into sheets and drawn into 
wires. It is used for making the plates and cocks 
for what are known as nickel movements in Ameri- 
can watches. 

To Restore the Color of Nickle movements. Take 

50 parts of rectified alcohol, 1 part of sulphuric acid, 
and 1 part nitric acid. Dip the pieces for about 10 
to 15 seconds in this composition, then dip them in 
cold water, and afterwards in rectified alcohol. Dry 



28 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

them with a piece of fine linen, or in sawdust. 
Nickel and the greater part of those metals liable to 
tarnish, may be restored to their primitive color by 
dipping in the following bath: Dissolve in a half a 
glass of water, 6 or 7 grains of cyanide of potassium ; 
plunge the pieces in this solution and withdraw them 
immediately. As the cyanide mixes well with water, 
it is sufficient to rinse them once in the latter to de- 
stroy any trace of the cyanide. After this, dip the 
pieces in alcohol, and dry them in boxwood dust, in 
order to keep them from rusting. The balance, even 
together with its .spring, can be subjected to this 
operation without any danger. If the pieces to be 
restored are greasy, they must be cleaned with ben- 
zine before being dipped in the cyanide, because it 
will not touch grease. Cyanide of potassium, being 
a violent poison, great care has to be exercised, and 
the operation should be performed in a well venti- 
lated place. The same bath can be preserved in a 
bottle, and serves for a long time. 

German Silver. German silver is an alloy of cop- 
per, nickel and zinc, with an occasional addition of 
tin. When used in objects that require soldering 2 
per cent, of lead is added. When this is the case it 
is sometimes called silver solder. It has a more 
yellow appearance than nickel, is softer, finer, and 
closer; takes a high polish, and does not oxidize 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 29 

readily. It has an extended use in the arts, for fine 
tools, as mathematical instruments, etc., and was for- 
merly much used as a basis for electro-plated ware, 
etc. It is also much used in European watch move- 
ments, often erroneously termed "nickel" move- 
ments. German silver is used only for the plates, 
cocks and bars, and all holes not jeweled are bushed 
with brass, as German silver soon blackens and 
destroys the oil, and the pivots wear sooner than 
when working in hard brass. For this reason it has 
not been popular with watchmakers for the cheaper 
grade of watches, i. e. those without jewels. 

Aluminium. This is a white metal, malleable, 
ductile and capable of a high polish, which tar- 
nishes on long exposure to the air, giving the metal 
the color of pewter. Its chief use when pure, is in 
situations where lightness is desired, as it is only one- 
fourth the weight of silver. This makes it desirable 
for the hands of large clocks, spectacle bows, and the 
tubes of telescopes, etc. It has an extensive use in 
alloys; an alloy of 90 parts copper and 10 parts of 
aluminium is malleable, ductile, and resists wear to 
such an extent that it is much used for boxes of 
lathes and other parts of fine tools. It is used for 
lever escape wheels, and some other parts of watches, 
and also, on account of its golden color, for the cases 
of cheap watches, but the latter always tarnish where 



3° 



watchmakers' and jewelers' 



not subject to daily wear. It also has an extensive 
use in cheap jewelry, under the name of oreide, 
Roman gold, etc. 

Solders and Soldering. A solder is an alloy 

employed to unite, by means of heat, two metallic 
bodies placed in contact. To do this, a solder must 
be more fusible than the metals it unites, otherwise 
the latter would be damaged by the heat used to 
melt the solder. In the event of soldering a piece 
of wcrk which requires several solderings at or near 
the same place, the last alloy used will require to be 
considerably more fusible than the first, or other- 
wise the heat would be so great that the earlier 
joints would melt. 

Solders are commonly divided into two groups, 
known respectively as hard and soft solders. The 
former fuse only at a red heat, while the latter fuse 
at low degrees of heat. The following table shows 
the composition of various hard solders which have 
stood a practical test for various purposes: 



Description. 


Parts Brass. 


Parts Zinc. 


Parts Tin. 


Refractory 


4.00 
5.00 
13. 00 
40.00 
73.25 


1. 00 
4.00 
5.00 
2.00 
17.2S 




Readily Fusible 

Half White 




White 













PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



31 



Gold solders should approach the articles to be 
soldered in both color and fusibility as nearly as 
possible. The following gold solders are in general 
use: 



Description. 



Hard Solder for75o fine 

Soft Solder for 750 fine 

Solder for 583 fine 

Solder for less than 5S3 fine, 



Parts 


Parts 


Gold. 


Silver. 


9.0 


2.0 


12.0 


7.0 


3.o 


2.0 


2.0 


2.0 



Parts 
Copper. 



1.0 
3.o 



The following hard silver solders have been tho- 
roughly tested : 



Description. 



First.. 
Second 
Third . 
Fourth 



Parts 
Fine Silver. 


Parts 
Copper. 


Parts 
Brass. 


4 
2 




3 


19 

57 


2S.6 


10 



Parts 
Zinc. 



S 
14.3 



The soft solder most frequently used consists of 2 
parts of tin and 1 of lead. The following table gives 
the composition of various soft solders with their 
respective melting points; 



32 



watchmakers' and jewelers' 



No. 


Parts 


Parts 


Melts at 


No. 


Parts 


Parts 


Melts at 


Tin. 


Lead. 


Deer. F. 


Tin. 


Lead. 


Deg. F. 


, 




2<; 


558 


7 


1 5* 


1 


334 


2 




IO 


54' 


8 


2 


1 


340 


3 




5 


5" 


9 


3 


1 


356 


4 




3 


482 


10 


4 


1 


36; 


5 




2 


4+i 


11 


5 


1 


37S 


6 




1 


. w 


12 


6 


1 


3S0 



Soldering Fluxes. As a soldering flux for hard 
solder, use borax rubbed to a paste with water on a 
slate. For soft soldering, dissolve a small piece of 
zinc in pure hydrochloric acid until effervescence 
ceases. After twenty-four hours remove the undis- 
solved zinc, filter the solution, add one-third its vol- 
ume of spirits of sal-ammoniac and dilute with rain 
water. This fluid is non corrosive. Where two 
smooth surfaces are to be joined together, you can 
make an excellent joint, by moistening with the fluid 
and then having placed a small sheet of bright look- 
ing lead which comes as a lining for tea boxes 
between them, pressing firmly together, hold over 
your lamp until the lead melts. The closest kind of 
a joint can be made in this way. 

Preparing Articles for Soldering. The thorough 

cleansing, of surfaces to be joined is of the utmost 
importance but more especially so in the case of soft 
soldering. This cleansing may be effected by means 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 33 

of acids or by scraping with a knife or graver. In 
soldering, it is frequently necessary to hold the parts 
in position by means of binding wire, which is made 
of soft iron, or the parts may be retained in position 
by means of many of the clamps now sold for that 
purpose. The blow pipe is used most extensively for 
watchmakers' work though small soldering irons are 
sometimes employed. Articles are usually placed 
upon a piece of charcoal while soldering, but when 
soldering gold or silver an asbestos block or piece of 
pumice stone will be found more desirable.' Char 
coal emits gases while under the blow pipe which 
enter into the alloy of gold or silver and render them 
brittle. 

To Solder a Stay Spring. Stay or lifting springs 

are often broken, and the watchmaker has frequently 
none of the right size nor the time to make a new 
one. In such a predicament he can mend the old 
one and have it just as good as new, by placing the 
broken parts together and binding them firmly to a 
piece of coal, then soldering them with 18-karat gold. 
It requires a strong heat and plenty of borax; then 
finish off, nicely harden and temper in the usual 
manner. 

To Dissolve Soft Solder. Nitric acid may be used 
safely for gold not lower than 12 k. and is very 
effective. The following is suitable for all grades of 



34 WATCHMAKERS AND JEWELERS 

gold and silver : Green copperas 2 oz., saltpeter 1 oz., 
reduced to a powder and boiled in 10 oz. of water. 
It will become crystalized on cooling. Dissolve 
these crystals by the addition of 8 parts of spirits of 
salts to each part of crystals, using an earthenware 
vessel. Add 4 parts of boiling water, keep the mix- 
ture hot and immerse the article to be operated upon 
and the solder will be entirely removed without 
injuring the works. 
Soldering Clamps. The Magic Repair Clamps, 




shown in Fig. 13, will be found very useful for hold- 
ing various kinds of work while soldering. In the 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 35 

illustration, one of the clamps is shown holding the 
dial in position while the foot is held by the other 
clamp in the position in which it is to be soldered. 
This tool is so arranged that the end screws and 
handle may be used as feet so that the tool with the 
work in it will stand up, thus leaving the operator 
free to use asbestos block or charcoal in one hand and 




Fig. 14. 
the blow pipe in the other. The number of positions 
in which this tool can be placed and also its uses 
are almost limitless. Soldering tweezers, similar to 
those shown in Fig. 14, will also be found very use- 
ful for holding small work while soldering. They 
may be obtained from material dealers generally. 

Watchmakers' Cement. The best lathe cement, or 
wax, which is kept for sale by all dealers in tools and 
materials is prepared in the following way. Eight 
ounces of the best gum shellac are thoroughly incor- 
porated with one-half ounce of ultramarine blue. 
The shellac is first dissolved in a small quantity of 
water over a sand or water-bath and the ultramarine 
added gradually. This makes the strongest and best 
wax for use on cement brasses or chucks. 



36 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

Mode of Applying Lathe Wax. in applying wax 

in the lathe it is essential that the wax chuck or 
cement brass be thoroughly freed from all old and 
burnt cement. On the face of cement chucks or 
brasses will be seen a series of concentric circles cut 
with a graver, as shown in Fig. 15. These circles 
are cut to increase the adhesion of the cement. Do 
not allow them to be filled up with old burnt cement. 
It is of the utmost importance that the chuck 
jlUHjjjj-^ be brought to the right heat before 

I Wgg?w^ the wax is applied. If wax is 
/ '''5jj/l ;;;#^ pj|iP applied to a cold chuck it will not 
\j/gg^ hold firmly and is very liable to 

Fig. 15. scale off while you are in the act 

of performing a very important part of the work. 
Keep the chuck revolving in the lathe while heating 
and also while applying the wax. Apply as little 
wax as possible between the object and the chuck. 
If you apply a thick layer, the object will lose its 
rigidity. Hold the object against the face of the 
chuck by means of a pegwood supported on the T 
rest. After centering to position remove the lamp 
and allow the chuck to revolve until the wax sets. 



PART III. 



LIGHT AND POSITON. 

The preservation of the health is most important, 
as it exercises an important influence on the keenness 
of the sight and the steadiness of the hand, two of 
the chief requirements of a workman. Good habits 
contracted in youth are sometimes difficult to 
keep up, but when the watchmaker has tried them 
long enough to be convinced of their influence on 
his health, and consequently on his work, he will 
appreciate them sufficiently to keep them up. 

The Glass. No watchmaker should use a glass 
that is not truly acromatic. If, on looking at any 
bright object, rings of colored light appear in the 
glass or a fringe of colored light around the object, 
the glass should be rejected as unfit for use. If com- 
pelled to use a glass of this nature take a small 
brush and some black, lusterless paint and paint a 
ring around the inside of the lens, commencing at the 
frame and gradually working toward the center until 
the colors disappear. Or a ring may be cut out of 
paper, blackened and put inside the frame next the 
lens. This will diminish the field of view, but it will 
be much easier on the eye. Do not use glasses of 
too great power, as they needlessly tire the eye. It 

37 



38 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

is well to have several glasses of different powers, 
and to use the weakest ones as much as possible, 
reserving the stronger glasses for use only on the 
most delicate operations. The glass should not be 
held in position by contracting the muscles of the eye 
for more than a moment or two. A glass holder can 
be made of twisted wire, or an old mainspring can be 
riveted on the frame of the glass so that it will main- 
tain the glass steadily in any position with no sus- 
ceptible. pressure. A few holes should be drilled in 
the frame of the glass near the eye, to ventilate it 
and thus avoid the irritation caused by the heating of 
the enclosed air and the deposition of moisture on 
the inner surface of the lens. 

It is a good practice to habituate yourself to using 
either eye with the glass. In many delicate opera- 
tions this will frequently allow a much easier posi- 
tion of the body than if but one eye were used. 

Light. The watchmaker should use a window fac- 
ing north whenever possible, as the light from the 
north is more evenly diffused; shadows are not cast ! 
by it; reflections do not bother the operator, and a 
given finish on any metal will always have the 
same appearance. Consequently the operator can 
work more rapidly and with less fatigue than when 
he is working by a changeable light, as is always the 
case where the sun strikes the bench for a portion of 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 39 

the day. If much bothered by sunlight striking the 
polished metal, an engraver's glass screen may be 
used. This is a large double convex bottle, mounted 
in a frame so as to be easily adjusted to any position. 
This is rilled with water slightly tinged with aniline 
blue, and the yellow rays of the sunlight, passing 
through the blue become changed to green, which is 
a restful color and does not annoy the eye. A very 
slight amount of blue is sufficient. Others use a 
muslin curtain strongly blued in washing, and some 
varnish the window glass with a colorless varnish 
containing a slight admixture of blue. It will seldom 
be found necessary to resort to these methods, how- 
ever, unless compelled to work in extremely unfavor- 
able situations. 

Position when working. Do not use a stool with 

a stuffed seat, as it frequently causes irritation by 
pressure on the prostatic gland. A stool with a cane, 
wood, or leather top will be found much better than 
one with a soft cushion. The top should be large 
enough to allow a frequent change of position. It 
should have an adjusting screw to enable the work- 
man to change the height at will, thus avoiding com- 
pression of the muscles of the chest and neck during 
any long and tedious operation. An old piano stool 
with a broad seat, covered with calfskin tightly 
strained over the upholstery, so as to harden it, 



40 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

makes a very good stool and can be purchased cheaply. 
By thus providing himself with the means of chang- 
ing his position easily and frequently, the workman 
will avoid cramping of the legs, chest and neck, irri. 
tation at the base of the spine, backache, and various 
other ills arise from improper positions in working: 
and by being careful to sit as erectly as possible, 
round shoulders, and much strain on the eyes will be 
avoided. 



PART IV. 



MANIPULATION. 

It is very essential that the novice should first 
learn to file flat and square, to turn round and to 
hammer a piece of metal without deteriorating it. In 
the modern training of an apprentice these accom- 
plishments are too often neglected, principally owing 
to the shortness of the time he can afford to devote 
to learning his trade. 

To File Flat and Square. It is a common practice 
to set an apprentice to work with an old file and a 
piece of iron. This is a mistake. The apprentice 
will do better to start with a round piece of hard 
wood, dressing it down to a square, first with a rasp 
and finishing with a new bastard file. He should 
not leave hard wood until he can file a surface so 
well, that, on placing a metal rule across its surface 
in any direction, it is found to be flat. When he can 
do this he can safely advance a step and work upon 
brass. Avoid rapid movement and excessive pressure 
and take care that little or no pressure is applied 
during the backward stroke. Avoid short and jerky 
movements. No written instructions can replace 
those of a competent teacher. 

41 



42 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

Do not be afraid of using new files in the above 
practice as the wear will not injure them but rather 
bring them into good condition for working iron or 
steel. 

When filing an object which is held on a cork or 
wood block fixed in a vise, and one hand only is used 
for filing, special care should be taken to lay the file 
flat without any hesitation after each return stroke, 
and the hand should be able to feel if the file is 
in this respect and to at once bring it flat. 

Mechanical Devices for Filing Flat. There are 

many mechanical devices for filing flat but the two 
examples here shown are among the best. Let it be 
supposed that we desire to finish up the square on a 
fusee or a barrel arbor; you will naturally find some 
difficulty in filing the sides of the square flat, if you 
proceed in the ordinary manner. Now we will sup- 
pose you have a dead-center lathe; place your arbor 



Fig. 16. 
between the dead-centers, allowing it no end-play, 
but perfect freedom to revolve. Now, if we have in 
the first place, made a flat on the sides, we may 
apply the file to the surface when swinging between 
centers with perfect impunity, and be assured that 



PRACTICAL HAND 300K. 43 

the surface will follow the direction of the file or 
burnisher as the case may be. The two centers, C, 
are supposed to be fixed in their respective places, 
while the arbor, B, is free to revolve, and the square, 
F, can be finished up with perfectly fiat sides. The 
file being applied to the flat, F, the freedom of motion 
will enable the article to meet it at any position the 
file may take. In polishing, the value of this little 
tool will become more apparent, for you have doubt- 
less noticed, that though you may have filed a sur- 
face flat, it will almost invariably round up in polish- 
ing. When small, thin work is to be done, that will 
not admit of swinging between centers like an arbor, 
the following attachment may be used. 




Fig. 27. 

This cradle, as it were, which is made of brass, 
acts in the same manner as does the arbor when 
swung between the centers. Shellac the pieces to 
be filed on the cradle, S, and proceed the same as 
with the arbor. Let the holes for the centers be 
deep enough to prevent the cradle from dropping 
out during the filing process. Work can be filed, 



44 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

stoned and finally polished without removing from 
the cradle. 

The workman may make the cradle of any size 
and length to accommodate the dimensions of the 
pieces he wishes to work on, and as it is so easily 
made he may have a number of different sizes and 
and depths. In planting the centers on which it is 
to vibrate, it must be taken into consideration that 
the nearer the line of the centers the surface to be 
worked, the truer will be the work, as it will vibrate 
much more easily than when the surface falls below 
the center. 

Filing Square Holes. To file a square hole it 

is necessary to reverse the work very often; a 
square file should first be used, and the holes finished 
with either a diamond-shaped file or a half-round. 
This leaves the corners square, as they properly 
should be. 

Use Of the Graver. Just as in working with the 
file, advice and demonstration by a good master are 
here indispensable. The materials should be worked 
in the same order as explained under filing, i. e., 
hard wood, brass, iron and steel. The apprentice 
should turn exclusively with the point of a square or 
lozenge-shaped graver. This is the only possible 
method of learning to turn true, and it enables the 
workman to acquire a great delicacy of touch. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



45 



A 



At Fig. 18, three styles of gravers are shown, but 
the one marked B is the most applicable for use of 
apprentices. Avoid gravers of the shape of C until 
such time as you have thoroughly mastered the art. 
The graver shown as A is applicable for all ordinary 
work on the lathe. 

Much depends upon the condition of your gravers 
and the manner of using them. It is of the utmost 
importance that they be kept sharp, and as soon as 
they begin to show the slightest sign of losing their 
keenness, you should sharpen 
them, otherwise you will be 
inclined to use pressure, which 
will soon render the hand 
heavy. Two ways of holding 
the graver are shown in Fig. 
19. If the graver is applied 
to the work as shown at A, it 
will cut a clean shaving, while 
if applied as shown at B it will ruin the point of the 
graver without materially forwarding the work. 
Holding the graver as shown at A also has other 
advantages. The force of the cut, when the graver 
is held in this position, is towards the hand holding 
it, and should it catch frpm any cause the jar of the 
obstruction will be conveyed immediately to the 
hand, and it will naturally give, and no harm will be 



Fig. 18. 



46 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

done. If, on the other hand, the graver should meet 
with an obstruction while held in the position indi- 
cated at B, the force of the shock 
— . will be in the direction of the 
-jr-* rest, downward, as shown by the 
arrow, and the rest being rigid 
and unyielding, the result will be 
3 disastrous not only to the graver 



cf 



a- 



^~~~* ' ' but to the work also. Do not 
Fig. 19. attempt to remove much material 

at a time, but rather aim to see how small a shaving 
can be made. In this way you will acquire a del- 
icacy of touch that will prove valuable to you in 
after life. 

Lubricant for Sharpening Cutting Tools, instead 

of oil, which thickens and makes the stone dirty, use 
glycerine as a lubricant when sharpening your 
gravers. The cutting surface of a graver and the 
amount of pressure exercised on the stone while 
sharpening being small, it is necessary to employ 
glycerine almost pure or with one or two drops of 
alcohol. The proportions of the lubricant vary 
according to the instrument operated on. An article 
with a large surface sharpens best with a limpid 
liquid, as three parts of glycerine to one part of 
alcohol. Kerosene oil is the best thing to use as a 
lubricant for hard stones such as the Arkansas. 



PART V. 



TOOLS AND APPLIANCES. 

The Bench. Watchmakers' benches of various 
patterns, both open and curtain-top, may be pur- 
chased ready-made from almost any material dealer. 
The curtain or roller-top benches possess many ad- 
vantages over the ordinary open-top benches, but the 
cost sometimes debars their purchase. With a cur- 
tain-top bench the work may all be left upon the 
bench at night, the side raised and the curtain 
dropped and the top and all the drawers, containing 
tools, are locked automatically, thus preventing any 
meddling with tools or work and excluding all dust. 
The bench shown in Fig. 20 is one of the latest de- 
signs on the market, the points claimed for it being 
that it is raised sufficiently from the ground to allow 
sweeping under it, and its extreme lightness. The 
frame is made of iron, and is similar to those used for 
sewing machines. The foot wheel is fastened to the 
iron frame on the left, instead of being supported by 
uprights from the floor. For the benefit of those 
who wish to have their bench made bv a local car- 
penter or cabinetmaker a design is submitted, at Fig. 
21. This bench is made of black walnut, veneered 
with French walnut and bird's eye maple. The top 

47 



48 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

T 




Fig. 20. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



49 



is 21 inches wide by 41 long, and is 33 inches high. 
The drawers on the right hand side are ten inches 
wide. In the center are two drawers, and the left 




Fig. 21. 
hand side is entirely boxed in. The lathe wheel 
weighs 40 pounds, and the space in which it runs is 
only five inches wide. Use a walking motion treadle. 



5<d watchmakers' and jewelers' 

Well seasoned black walnut, cherry or red cedar 
are the best woods for a bench. From this sketch 
any first-class cabinet maker should be able to make 
a good bench. The little square pin attached to the 
right hand end of the bench is a Carter patent peg- 
wood cutter, which is made fast to the bench by 
screws, and dispenses with the use of a bench knife 
to sharpen pegwood; this little tool is a grooved 
plane with a steel cutter that sharpens the pegwood 
very nicely and quickly, and only requires the use of 
one hand. 

The Lighting. For night work or during dark 
days where a light is necessary, perhaps nothing will 
be found superior to what is known as the student 
lamp. This lamp is fitted with an Argand burner and 
uses kerosene oil. If gas is used an Argand burner 
will be found the most desirable. Where possible, 
either on gas or oil lamps, use a duplex glass shade, 
which is dark green on the outside and white on the 
inside. This pattern shade throws all the light 
directly on the bench, and shades the eyes from the 
glare. Do not raise the lamp too high, but rather 
have it at such a height that your eyes are in the 
shade while the work is well in the light. 

The AlCOhOl Lamp. The simplicity lamp, shown 
in Fig. 22, is a favorite one with American watch- 
makers. It has nine facets on the font, and it can 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 51 

readily be adjusted to any required position. Care 
should be exercised that the wicks of alcohol lamps 
are not too tight, and the interior and exterior should 




Fig. 22. 

be kept free from dirt. The wick should be kept 
long enough to reach well down into the alcohol and 
the font must not be filled too full. 

Oil Stones. It is well to have at least two good oil 
stones, one rather soft and coarse for first grinding 
to shape, and another, say a Turkey stone, for the 



52 WATCHMAKERS AND JEWELERS' 

final edge. The lubricant for oil stones has already 
been referred to on page 46. Should the surface of 
jour oil stones become ridged through irregular 
wear, the level may be restored by rubbing the stone 
on a smooth board covered with a paste of fine sand 
or emery and water. Should the stones become 
saturated with oil or their surfaces become impaired 
owing to the gumming of the lubricant, they should 
be put into a bath of strong lye or benzine and 
allowed to remain two or three days, and the oil will 
be eaten out. 

Circular Oil Stones. Circular oil stones will be 
found much superior to the ordinary flat oil stones 
commonly used, for sharpening drills, gravers and 
other cutting tools, where it is desirable to have an 
exact angle. An Arkansas or Turkey stone dressed 
down to circular form, and say i^j inches in diam- 
eter, when mounted for the lathe will be found to be 
superior to the ordinary flat stones. Apply the 
lubricant to the stone the same as you would to a 
flat one, and hold your graver or drill at the exact 
angle you want the cutting edges to be, and turn at 
moderate speed. Truer angles and better work can 
be produced in this manner than by any other. 
Emery or corundum wheels mounted in a similar 
manner, will be found very handy accessories to the 
watchmakers' bench. The wheels may be obtained 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



53 



from material dealers or dental supply houses, in 
sizes varying from y 2 x % to Z X A ^ K inches. A 
set of three or more will prove very valuable for 
grinding dials, to allow freedom of motion for 
wheels, when fitting new dials; for grinding milling 




y 



Fig. 23. 

cutters, drills, gravers, etc. When purchased these 
wheels have a central hole, and they can be mounted 
for use by the watchmaker in the following manner: 
Turn down a piece of No. 30 Stubbs steel wire, to 
the size of the opening in your wheel, and rivet the 
wheel firmly upon it as indicated in Fig. 23. The 
best sizes for watchmakers' use are % inch, 1 inch 
and 1 % inch in diameter. 

Files. A new file should never be used on steel ; 
it is better to use it for a while on brass, handling it 
carefully. A file that has been properly used and 
has passed from brass to steel will last four or five 
times as long as one that has been used on steel 
when new. If a new file be employed upon steel, 



54 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

or if sharp quick strokes are made, the cutting edges 
of the file will chip off and the hard particles will 
be embedded in the metal operated upon, injuring 
both file and work. 

To Clean Old Files. Old files that are clogged 
with dirt, grease and metal can be restored by boil- 
ing for half to three-quarters of an hour in a solution 
of 4 ounces of saleratus to a quart ot* water. After 
boiling, rinse in clean cold water, and then place them 
in a solution composed of 4 ounces of sulphuric acid 
to a quart of water. The small files should be re- 
moved at the end of thirty minutes, but larger ones 
may remain in for two or three hours. After re- 
moval from the bath wash in clean water and brush 
with a stiff brush until dry, then oil thoroughly to 
prevent rusting. 

Centering Tool. This tool is very easily made and 
will save much time. Every workman knows how 
much time is spent in centering up in the universal 
head. To be sure there is a needle or point which 
plays through the hole in the chuck, but it is very hard 
to center accurately by it. Of course, if the work is 
not particular, the needle will do, but where it is essen- 
tial that the work should be accurately centered, the 
needle fails. To center with this tool, unscrew your 
rest and remove it, then place the shaft, c fig. 24, in 
rest holder and adjust it till the needle point R 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



55 



touches the top of hole as shown at A. The index 
hand will then note the variations as the head re- 
volves. If the wheel is too low, the index will point 
above center and vice versa. By gently tapping, the 
wheel can be accurately centered, which will be de- 
noted by the index hand remaining motionless at E. 
The body of this indicator is made of sheet brass and 




Fig. 24. 

should be about five inches long by two inches in 
width at the larger end. The shank, c, is made to 
fit in rest holder and is either riveted or soldered to 
the body ; R is steel or copper wire sharpened to a 
fine point and balances on a pivot at I ; B is an old 
clock hand pivoted to the body at i ; 2 and 2 are 
pivot joints only and do not go through the body; 
C will, perhaps, give a better idea of ttie end F. 



56 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

Broaches. Care should be taken to see that the 
handles of your broaches are properly fitted so that 
they revolve truly. To test this, rest the points 
against the fingers of one hand and causing the han- 
dle to rotate by two fingers of the other hand, the 
broach itself should appear to remain true. Sealing. 
wax answers the purpose as a handle for broaches 
very nicely, and the broach can be centered in it 
without trouble. In the latter case hold the broach 
between two fingers with the handle end downward, 
and rotate it while held close to the flame of an 
alcohol lamp so that the sealing wax forms a regular 
oblong handle. It is well to gently draw a piece of 
iron charged with rouge along the edges of pivot 
broaches in order to remove the thread of metal 
from them. Minute particles of this thread might 
otherwise remain in the holes, and occasion wear of 
the pivots. 

To Solder Broken Broaches. Steel broaches and 

other tools are soldered by cleaning well the parts 
broken, then dipping them into a solution of sulphate 
of copper, and soldering them with ordinary soft 
solder. The joint is a good one and will stand ordi- 
nary hard wear. 

To Broach a Hole Vertically. It is quite a serious 

thing for young watchmakers to broach a hole verti- 
cally ; a hole in a plate, for instance, that in a barrel, 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 57 

is seldom maintained at right angles to the surface, 
when they have occasion to employ a broach. They 
may be certain of success, however, by adopting the 
following method: Take a cork of a diameter rather 
less than that of the barrel or other object operated 
upon, and make a hole in the length of the cork 
through which the broach can be passed When the 
cork has turned quite true on its end and edge, the 
broach is passed through, and used to enlarge the 
hole; by pressing against the back of the cock, it is 
kept against the barrel, whereby the broach is main- 
tained in a vertical position. 

The Lathe. The various forms of lathes on the 
market are so well known that a description of them 
is unnecessary. Those who contemplate buying a 
lathe, however, will do well to avoid all cheap imita- 
tions of the genuine American article. The Amer- 
ican lathe has proved very popular not only at home 
but abroad, and their popularity has induced many 
manufacturers in foreign countries to manufacture 
lathes on the lines of the American pattern. Many 
of these imitations are inferior both in material and 
workmanship, their greatest defect being their un- 
truth. These foreign makers send these lathes out 
guaranteed "as good as the American,'' and it is not 
long before the purchaser regrets the fact that he 
tried to save a dollar or two by buying them. There 



58 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

are six or seven manufacturers of genuine American 
lathes, and if an untrue lathe by any possibility is 
allowed to escape the inspector and finds its way 
upon the market, the American manufacturer is only 
too glad to exchange it for a perfect article, for his 
reputation is at stake ; but who are you going back 
upon in case one of these imitation lathes prove 
untrue and thoroughly unreliable? Above all things 
purchase a good lathe. Investigate the merits and 
claims of the leading manufacturers of the genuine 
article, and then use your best judgment in the selec- 
tion. The best lathe that money can buy is none too 
good for the watchmaker. The quality of the work 
done and the satisfaction which the lathe gives to its 
owner, depends greatly upon the care which he 
bestows upon it, providing that originally it was a 
first-class article. 

The American lathe of to-day is a marvel of com- 
pleteness in its parts, and how many hours, yea 
months, of study and experiment have been bestowed 
upon it by its projectors and makers to acquire these 
points of utility and excellency. What a vast amount 
of care has been exercised for the production of a 
perfect lathe. Must this care cease on the moment 
the lathe passes into the hands of the watchmaker? 

It is a very easy matter at any time to wipe off the 
dust and oil that may accumulate, but does this alone 






PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 59 

constitute due care? There may be a nice glass case 
to cover it and keep off the dust, and a very good 
idea it is if faithfully used; but if a counter shaft is 
on the bench, or much lathe work is to be done, it 
soon falls into blissful desuetude, or finishes its use- 
fulness by being broken. Then, often, a cloth is 
wrapped about the lathe, which soon gets soiled and 
looks badly, let alone the poor protection it affords. 

Dust is omnipresent and the greatest enemy to all 
active machinery; it insiduously makes its way into 
every crease and crevice, and if not promptly re- 
moved will cause untold damage. We can not get 
rid of it and must (like the industrious housewife) 
wage a constant warfare against it. 

The care necessary to be given to a fine lathe 
differs from most other tools ; it is not confined alone 
to the removal of dust and keeping clean, but the 
fitting properly of the several parts as used. There 
should be no overstraining when tightening screws, 
chucks, etc., or when fitting articles in both wire and 
wheel, and so on through the list. 

The face of the lathe bed when it comes from the 
makers, is (or should be) perfectly true from end to 
end, in order that head and tail stocks will meet on a 
direct line of centers, even should they be changed 
end for end, and a good lathe will meet those require- 
ments. Now, it is obvious to any thinking mind 






60 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

that if this face becomes injured by neglect, whereby 
the nickling is removed in spots or portions, they 
will, in all probability, become rusty; this rust will 
then eat away and throw off more, and soon the face 
presents an uneven surface, which will tend to de- 
stroy the line of centers between head and tail stocks. 

The head stock, usually occupying one position, 
causes less wear at this point or place, while the 
hand rest and tail stock are constantly being shifted, 
so where there is more motion or action there must 
be more wear, especially if dust, chips or grit be 
allowed to accumulate beneath them, and though the 
wear is seemingly imperceptible it nevertheless is 
there and will sooner or later manifest itself, and this 
is a signal that the level of the bed is becoming im- 
paired and, necessarily, the truth. Thus too much 
care and attention can not be exercised in guarding 
against chips and dust when sliding hand rest forth 
and back on the bed. 

At the end of bed, wnere the tail stock takes posi- 
tion, many watchmakers have the tail stock off, and 
this portion is more exposed to atmospheric action, 
also receiving perspiration from the hands when they 
come in contact. Again, others let the tail stock 
remain in position, only removing when it comes in 
the way. In the former case, it is well to devise 
some means for the protection of bed ; this is easily 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 6l 

done by making a sheath of chamois skin to slip 
tightly over the bed; it can be removed and replaced 
readly, and when it becomes soiled can be washed. 

This sheath should be fully two-thirds the length 
of bed, or reaching from tail end up to hand rest 
when it is close to head stock. It preserves the bed 
from dampness, which is considerable in some clim- 
ates, also the perspiration of the hand and flying 
chips and dust. In the second case, if the tail stock 
is allowed to remain on lathe, or, if removed and 
placed on the bench, it is subjected to all the evils the 
bed is in the former. Our opinion is, the tail stock 
should be kept in its compartment in a tight fitting 
drawer, away from dust and accidental knocks of 
other tools on the bench ; the tail spindle not being 
nickled, is more liable to rust if left exposed, and 
should be kept wrapped in a sheath of oiled paper. 
This may seem superfluous and too much bother, 
yet it is taking proper care which tells in the end. 

The bottom of tail stock should always be brushed 
off before placing in position, not only for its protec- 
tion but for fear some particle of grit may be adher- 
ing, thereby throwing it out of truth, and screwing it 
down tight only adds injury to the lathe if allowed to 
remain. 

The head stock demands close attention; the 
spindle should run freely without end shake, and 



62 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

about once a week should be speeded, meanwhile 
administering oil until it leaves the bearings clean, 
and then wiped off. A little oil should be added every 
day. See that the mouth of the spindle is kept bright 
and clean; thrust a strip of cloth clear through 
spindle every now and then, that all dust and dirt 
may be removed. 

Wire and wheel chucks should often be washed in 
gasoline to remove gummy dirt and oil which is con- 
stantly adhering, and it is even well each' time a 
chuck is used, to wash off first, then wipe dry. A 
iittle dirt on mouth of spindle, or on chuck, often 
throws it out of truth, and consequently the article 
fastened therein also. 

When fitting head or tail stock, or in fact any 
attachment, do so carefully. Do not bang it in place 
as if you held a grudge against it, and when in posi- 
tion see they are tightly»screwed in place. 

Having too much end shake on live spindle, 
especially in soft lathes, causes uneven wear in its 
bearings, besides not being reliable for true pivoting 
or any such work. 

When the cost of a lathe is taken into considera- 
tion, it goes to prove that it is not easily replaced. 
Where is the jeweler with a stock of goods who 
would retire without first seeing his valuables were 
in the safe, but how many are there who think of 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 63 

giving this protettion to their lathes ? Some do, but 
the greater per cent, do not. It is a "pious plan'' to 
see that the head stock, tail stock, and attachments 
are in the safe, and should a fire break out that en- 
dangers the store, and no chance to save it, the feel- 
ing of satisfaction is great to know the lathe is safe, 
that is, the more expensive parts, for the bed can be 
purchased at a nominal cost compared to the attach- 
ments. 

A word about chuck blocks or stands. The best 
kind are those made to fit in a drawer of the bench 
and the holes sunk deep enough to let the chuck 
(wire) drop fulJ length or to the head, the hole being 
countersunk to admit the bevel portion. They can 
easily be picked out with the finger nail. Have the 
block thoroughly soaked with oil. 

To prevent rusting of tools, and especially if the 
bed shows signs of rust spots, here is a good old 
remedy: procure some blue ointment, spread it on 
a cloth and rub the tools or lathe briskly, then wipe 
off with a clean cloth, wipe dry. This ointment 
leaves a thin coating of mercury which prevents the 
action of dampness on the tools. This cure need not 
be resorted to oftener than once a month, and keep 
ointment away from gold cases and watch move- 
ments. If you find your lathe bed has got in such a 
condition as to destroy its truth, send it at once to the 



64 



watchmakers' and jewelers' 



makers and have it put in first-class condition. Do 
not trust it, for the sake of saving a little, to some 
unresponsible firm for repairs. 

An excellent lathe for the heavier work of jewelers 
and watchmakers, such as cannot be performed with 




Fig. 25. 
satisfaction on the watchmaker's lathe, is manufact- 
ured by the W. F. & John Barnes Co., Rockford, 111., 
and is known as their No. 5 lathe. This lathe, which 
is a very popular one with watchmakers, is illustrated 
at Fig. 25. For screw cutting, the manufacture of 
watchmakers' tools, fishing reels, tower clocks, and 
in fact, any of the heavier work which the watch- 
maker may wish to perform, this lathe is admirably 
fitted. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



65 



Drill Rests. Drill rests will be found very con- 
venient adjuncts to the lathe, and the watchmaker 
should make a half-dozen of different sizes, from U 
to 1 inch in diameter, varying by % °f an inch. To 
make them, use hard rolled sheet brass, a trifle 
thicker than 1-16 inch; saw out the number you 
want, a trifle large, so each piece of brass will be 14", 
%y %> S A, %i Y* and x inch in diameter, when turned 
off. Place a steel taper plug in the chuck of your 
lathe, and turn down a recess, leaving a shoulder on 
the taper; drill a hole through one of the brass 




i 



Fig. 26. 
pieces already made, to fit the steel taper tightly, and 
remove from the lathe. Place the end of the taper 
on a lead block, proceed to rivet the brass on the 
steel taper tightly and true, replace the taper in the 
lathe chuck and proceed to turn the face and edge of 
the brass perfectly true and of the proper size. Pro- 
ceed the same with all the sizes until the whole set is 



66 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

complete. Every watchmaker knows how hard it is 
to hold an article to a. drill in a lathe and drill a hole 
perfectly straight. By using a drill rest this may be 
easily accomplished, by placing the rest in the spindle 
of the tail stock and placing the article flat against 
the rest. Loosen the screw on the tail stock spindle 
and gently move the article against the drill, and the 
whole will be perfectly upright and all danger of 
breaking drills will be avoided. Fig. 26 shows a 
front and side view of these very useful little attach- 
ments, which all watchmakers should have. 

Jewel Chucks. Jewel chucks, or jewel cement 
chucks as they are sometimes called, will also be 
found very useful, and any watchmaker can make a 
supply of them during his leisure moments. They 
should be made of brass and threaded to screw into 
the taper screw chuck of lathe and similar to Fig. 27 
in shape. Ten or twelve different sized faces will 
make a good assortment to select from. They will be 
found very valuable for fitting odd-sized jewels. 
Once in a while you will find it impossible to select 
from your supply of jewels one that will fit the pivot 
properly, and at the same time fit in the recess in the 
cock or potance. Select a jewel that fits the pivot, 
and if the brass setting is too large select one of 
these jewel chucks that is a trifle smaller than 
the recess in the potance. Cement the jewel to the 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 67 

end of the jewel chuck, bring to a dead center on the 
lathe, by means of a peg-wood, inserting it in the 
hole in the jewel, and as soon as the cement is cool 
you can proceed to turn down the brass setting to fit 
the potance. Cement the jewel with the flat side 
toward the chuck, so that in case the setting is too 
^ gf ^ _ ^ thick it also can be turned 

® E]fl|=:i -^illi down to the exact thick »ess 
of the original jewel's set- 
Fig - 27 - ting. With a full set of 

these jewel chucks you will be able to utilize many 
odds and ends and fit a jewel perfectly in a short time, 
while otherwise you might be compelled to wait 
several days for the receipt of a jewel from some 
material house, and then find when it comes that it 
is not just what you wanted. 

Screw Head Sink Cutters. These little tools, like 

the ones just described, can be made by any ingen- 
ious watchmaker, and they will be found well worth 
the time and labor bestowed upon them. Very often 
a watch is brought in that has a broken end-stone or 
cap jewel. The jewel is set in a brass setting and is 
held in place by two screws on opposite sides, the 
screw heads being let in or sunk even with the surface, 
and half of the screw head projects over on the end 
stone. The end stones which are purchased from the 
material houses are not sunk from these screw heads, 



68* watchmakers' and jewelers' 

but are just as left by the jewel lathe; and when they 
are fitted into position they fill up one-half of the 
space left for the screw heads. Now many watch- 
makers use a graver or small rat-tailed file to cut out 
these recesses for the screw heads, and the natural 
consequence is that the job is a bungling one when 
finished. A set of screw head sink cutters like that 
shown in Fig. 2S will do this work on the various 
movements, and do it as well as it is done in the fac- 
tories. With a set of six, to fit the various makes of 
American watches, you will be able to do your work 
in a first-class manner. Select a piece of Stubb's steel 
wire of the proper diameter for the sized cutter you 



Fig. 28. 
require, and about one inch in length. Place it in a 
wire or split chuck in your lathe, and turn one end 
to a center. Now reverse the wire in your chuck, 
being very careful that it is centered, and selecting a 
drill that will pass through the screw hole in the 
cock, proceed to drill a hole in the center of the wire, 
and in the flat end, making it about one-sixteenth of 
an inch deep. Remove from the lathe and with a 
sharp file or graver, proceed to cut a series of teeth, 
like those in the rose cutter, as equal and as even as 
possible. Use a good strong glass for this work, 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 69 

and be sure you have every tooth sharp and perfect, 
as upon this depends the quick and nice work that 
you expect from the tool. Now proceed to temper 
it and give the outside a nice polish. Select a nice 
piece of pivot wire, of a size that will nearly fit into 
the hole in the end of the tool, and polish it down to 
a size to fit snugly into the hole and drive it home. 
Cut off this wire, allowing about one-sixteenth of an 
inch to project in the form of a pivot. Taper and 
polish this pivot and your tool is ready for use. You 
can now select an end-stone of a diameter to fit 
tightly into the cock or potance, as may be required, 
and first placing the hole jewel in position, proceed 
to press the end-stone tightly against the hole jewel. 
Now place a sink cutter of the proper size in a split 
chuck in your lathe and select a medium-sized drill- 
rest, (see fig. 26), and place it in the tail stock spin- 
dle. Hold the cock or potance, with the hole and 
cap jewel in place as described, against the drill 
rest, and proceed to run the lathe at a moderate 
speed and slowly feed the cock or potance to the 
cutter in the lathe. The projecting pivot in the end 
of the cutter will pass through the screw hole and be 
a guide to keep the cutter in the center of the hole. 
Be careful and do not cut the recess too deep, as these 
little cutters are deceiving and cut much faster than 
you think, if you have never used them before. If 



7^ 



watchmakers' and jewelers' 



the projecting pivot on the cutter is well polished it 
will not injure the thread in the hole in the least. 

Hand Tongs. The sliding tongs generally used 
by the trade for holding minute hands while filing or 
broaching the hole large enough to fit the cannon 
pinion, are poor, awkward tools for the purpose. 
Fig. 29 illustrates a form of hand tong* that will be 
found very convenient for this purpose, and which 
can be made in a very 
little time. Almost 
every watchmaker has 
an old sliding pin vise, 
that is perhaps well 
worn out and which 
Fi«. 29. can be readily con- 

verted into a useful tool. If you have no such tool 
handy you can buy a new one for twenty-five cents 
and alter it over. Slide the ferrule towards the end 
tight, and file or saw a slot in the end, about one- 
thirty-second of an inch wide, and up to the hole 
that is usually drilled through the sliding pin vise. 
When this is done, proceed to saw or cut three nar- 
row grooves, lengthwise, on the inside of the jaws of 
the vise, and of a width and depth sufficient to 
hold a minute hand securely. The grooves should 
be similar to those made in the common sliding 
tongs, and are used in the same manner. Make the 




PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. *ri 

slots of three different widths, to accommodate the 
different widths of watch hands. The tool is oper- 
ated in the same manner as the sliding tongs, and in 
fact is simply a modification of that tool. At Fig. 30 
a second-hand holder is shown, with a hand in posi- 
tion ready to broach. In order to broach out a new 



Fig. 30. 

hand, where the boss of the old hand has been pre. 
served, place a small slip of cork upon the end of the 
broach and insert it in the old hand as far as it will 
go, and the new hand may then be broached until 
the cork is reached, before trying it for a fit. 

Mainspring Winders. The Stark patent winder, 
shown in Fig. 31, is a very superior tool, is simple 
and durable, and should last for a lifetime. The win 
der is fastened in the vise, the adjustable nut is then 
turned until the barrel will fit loosely over the jaws, 
the barrel is then removed and the spring wound on 
the arbor inside the jaws. Now let the handle turn 
backward until the arbor is free from the center, pull 
the arbor back and turn it half round, place the bar- 
rel back again over the jaws and spring, and hold it 
up tightly against the face of the winder with the 
left hand, at the same time push the arbor forward 



72 



WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS' 



with the right hand until the barrel and spring are 
free from the jaws, and the spring will be found in 
its proper place without further operation. There 
are two sizes of winding arbors, one for small and 




Fig. 31. 

the other for large barrels. The arbors are easily- 
changed by turning the thumb screw up until it is 
free, then changing the arbors and screwing the 
thumb screw down again. 

Adjustment Heater. The Simpson heater, shown 
in Fig. 32, will be found invaluable when adjusting 
movements to temperature. The variation of tem- 
perature in this heater is one and one-half degrees 
in twenty- four hours. It is designed to be heated by 
gas, the cost of heating being but about three cents 
in twenty-four hours. A small lamp can be used if 
the watchmaker has no gas at command. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



73 




Fig. 32. 



74 



watchmakers' and jewelers' 



Jewel Pfn Setter. Fig. 33 illustrates the Logan 
patent. It is an excellent tool and will 
save the workman considerable time 
and much annoyance by its use. Every 
watchmaker is aware what a difficult 
and tedious matter it is to set a jewel 
pin correctly. With this tool the job is 
accomplished quickly and accurately. 

Bezel Chuck. The Snyder Patent 
Bezel Chuck, shown in Fig. 34, was 
originally intended for holding bezels 
only, but it is now made so that it will 
hold watch plates, coins, etc , and is 
adjustable to any size. It can be fitted 
to any lathe and requires very little 
practice to use it, as it is extremely 
simple, and any one who uses a lathe 
can make or repair bezels in a work- 
manlike manner. It holds the work as 
in a vise, and no amount of turning or 
jarring will loosen the jaws, while it 
may be opened and closed instantly by 
simply turning the milled nut" behind 
the face plate, thus enabling the operator 
to turn and fit a bezel perfectly by try- 
Fig. 33. ing on the case as many times as is 
necessary. It holds the bezel by either groove, so 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 75 

that the recess may be turned out when too shal- 
low or too small for the glass, or the bezel may be 
inverted and turned away when it rests too hard on 
the dial. It will be found especially useful in turning 
out the inevitable lump of solder from the recess in 
the bezel, after soldering and in fitting to case, as the 
process of soldering generally makes 
the bezel shorter, and consequently it 
will not fit on the case. It also renders 
the operation of polishing bezels after 
soldering, but a few minutes work. 
In turning out the recess for glass in 
bezels, especially heavy nickel bezels, 
it will prove a friend indeed, when for 
instance, you look through your stock 
Fig. 34. of flat glasses and find none to fit, but 
have one that is just too large. All watchmakers 
know that if the groove in the bezel is imperfect it is 
apt to break the glass. The chuck is also useful as 
a barrel closer, holding work while engraving, and 
many other uses that will present themselves to the 
watch or case repairer. 

Gemeilt Chuck. The Spickerman patent cement 
chuck, shown in Fig. 35, is a very handy device, as it 
holds and centers accurately any wheel in a watch 
while drilling, polishing or fitting new staffs or 
pinions and all danger of injuring wheels is obviated. 




76 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

It fits all kinds of American or Swiss lathes. r lhe 
holder shown in Fig. 36 at «, is turned down to nearly 
the size of the screw for the lathe and the screw cut 
so the holder will set as close as possible to the latne,. 
The face of the holder is then turned perfectly triw* 




Fig. 35. 
Put wheel to be centered in cap c, as near to centei 
as convenient and screw on b. Then place cement 
face of chuck b against face of holder a on the lathe, 




a b c 

Fig. 36. 
and with a lamp, warm the cement between the sur- 
faces, holding the chuck Avith a stick against the 
pivot of wheel in the cap, and it will move to an 
exact center as soon as warmed sufficiently. New 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



77 



cement should be added occasionally between the 
surfaces, as it hardens and burns away and does not 
center as well as when new. Fig. 35 shows chuck 
with wheel inside ready for drilling. 

Filing Block. A contrivance made to take the 
place of the filing rest, which was made of boxwood 
or bone. It consists of a cylinder of hardened steel 
which revolves upon a staff which in turn enters a 
split socket. The surface of the steel cylinder is 




Fig. 37. 

grooved with various sizes of grooves for the dif- 
ferent sizes of wire, or to suit any work, as shown in 
Fig. 37. The cylinder is revolved until the desired 
size groove is brought uppermost, when the split 
socket is placed between the jaws of a vise, and the 
vise closed, thus holding the cylinder in the desired 
position. Fig. 37 illustrates Mr. Ide's patent block 
which is well made and of superior material. 

Rounding Up Attachment. The Webster rounding 
up tool attachment, shown in Fig. 38, is a very useful 



7S 



watchmakers' and jewelers 



adjunct to the lathe. It is attached to the top of the 
slide-rest. To operate, a pointed taper in the taper 
chuck is put in the lathe spindle. The wheel to be 
rounded up is put into the fixture and the wheel 
adjusted vertically so that the point of the lathe 




Fig. 38. 

center will be at the center of the thickness of the 
wheel, after which the lower spindle of the fixture 
should not be moved. Now remove the wheel, also 
the taper chuck, and put the saw arbor, with the 
rounding up cutter, in the lathe spindle, and adjust 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 79 

the longitudinal slide of the slide-rest so that the 
rounding up cutter will be back of and in line with 
the center of the rounding up fixture, after which 
the longitudinal slide of the slide-rest should not be 
moved. Now put the wheel and supporting collet 
in place, and proceed with the rounding up. 

Saw Arbor. The saw arbor or chuck, as shown in 
Fig. 39, is made with a projection turned to receive 




Fig. 39. 

a saw, diamond, or emery lap, etc They are manu- 
factured by the various lathe manufacturers, though 
the patterns vary somewhat from the illustration 
here shown. 

Pivot Polisher. The pivot polisher is used for 
grinding and polishing conical and straight pivots 
and shoulders. It is also useful for drilling, polish- 
ing or snailing steel wheels, milling out odd places 
in plate or bridge where only a part of a circle is to 
be removed, etc. The circular base being graduated 
to degrees, it can be set at any angle. The spindle 
has a taper hole for drill chucks, which makes the 
fixture very useful for drilling either in the center or 



8o 



WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS' 



eccentric, and by using the graduations on the pulley 
of the headstock an accurately spaced circle of holes 
may be drilled. Fig. 40 is the Rivett pattern. 

The polisher is used as follows: After the pivot is 
turned to proper shape, put on your polisher (spindle 




Fig. 40. 

parallel with lathe bed), with lap back of pivot. Use 
cast-iron lap first. (Square corners for square shoul- 
ders, and round corners for conical.) Lap for conical 
shoulder can be readily cornered with a fine file, and 
cross-grind with fine oil stone to remove any lines 
made by graver. Lines on end can be removed 
same way, or with slips rubbed on piece of ground 
glass which has on it a paste of oil stone and oil well 
mixed. 

This will rapidly bring them up to a sharp corner 
nicer than by the graver. On the iron laps use No. 






PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



Si 



I crocus or very fine oil stone powder, well ground 
down in oil to a paste. When roughened out to your 
liking, wipe off the crocus, and with a little oil touch 
the pivot gently ; repeat the second time. Then 
change lap for one of boxwood, and use crocus No. 
4, very fine and well ground down to paste. Proceed 
as with first lap, being careful at all times to keep 










Fig. 41. 



the lap properly oiled and not pressed too hard 
against the work, particularly in the last operation. 
Also be sparing of your grinding or polishing 
materials. About three specks of polish with point 
of a small knife is sufficient. Bring the lap up 






82 



watchmakers' and jewelers' 



carefully against the work until spread all the way 
around, then proceed, bearing in mind that grinding 
is not polishing, and that to polish nicely the work 
and lap must be very nearly the right shape. To 
thoroughly clean the laps, dip in benzine. 

Fig. 41 is the Johanson combined pivot polisher, 
milling and damaskeening machine. For use as a 
pivot polisher, it will fit any American lathe hand 
rest or can be used on slide rest. Cutters and polish- 
ing laps are furnished with the machine. 

Screw TailstOCk. This attachment shown in Fig. 




Fig. 42. 

42, is very convenient for heavy drilling, the spindle 
being moved by a screw with hand wheel attached. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 83 

Traverse Spindle Tailstock. This attachment 

will be found very convenient for straight drilling. 
Where the watchmaker has a great deal of drilling 
to do he will find this attachment invaluable. 

Filing Fixture Or Rest. These rests will be found 
very convenient in squaring winding arbors, center, 
squares, etc. There are several makes of these tools, 
but they are all built upon the same 
principle, that of two hardened steel 
rollers on which the file rests, and 
Fig. 43 is a fair example. One 
pattern is made to fit in the hand 
rest after the T is removed, while 
the other is attached to the bed of 
Fig. 43. the lathe in the same manner as 

the slide rest. The piece to be squared is held in the 
split or spring chuck in the lathe, and the index on 
the pulley is used to divide the square correctlv. 
Any article can be filed to a perfect square, hexagon 
or octagon, as may be desired. The arm carrying 
the rollers can be raised or lowered as required for 
adjustment to work of various sizes. 

Step Or Wheel Chucks, These chucks are usually 
made in sets of five, each chuck having nine steps, 
giving forty-five different sizes. These chucks are 
very useful in holding mainspring barrels, to fit in 
the cap of the barrel, should it become out of true. 







84 WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS' 

They are also valuable in trueing up barrels of Eng- 
lish lever watches, that are damaged owing to the 
breakage of a mainspring. They are also very useful | 




Fig. 44- 
in holding almost any wheel in a watch, but particu- 
larly convenient in fitting a center wheel to a pinion,, 
or in making sure that the hole in the wheel is in theij 
center. These chucks are made by the various lathe; 
manufacturers and are all similar to Fig. 44, and will 
hold wheels from .5 to 2.16. 

Staff or Cylinder Height Gauge. The obvious 

advantage of this tool, which is shown at Fig. 45, is : 
the automatic transfer of the measurement so that it 
may be readily applied to the work in hand. The 
tool, as the illustration shows, consists of a brass tube 
terminating in a cone-shaped piece. To the bottom 
of this cone is attached a disc through which a needle* 
plavs. Around the upper end of the tube is a collar 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



85 



upon which is fixed a curved stee! index finger. A 
similar jaw, which is free to move, works in a slot in 
the tube. The movable jaw is tapped and is pro 
pelled by a screw that terminates in the needle point. 
This tool is very useful in making the necessary 
measurements required in 
putting in a staff. To use it 
in this work, set the pivot of 
the gauge through the foot 
hole, and upon the end-stone 
project the needle such a 
distance as you wish the 
shoulder to be formed above 
the point of the pivot. Next 
set the gauge in the foot 
hole as before, and elevate 
the disc to a height that shall 
be right for the roller, which 
is done by having the lever 
in place, the little disc show- 
Fig. 45, ing exactly where the roller 

should come. Finish the staff up to that point, then 
take the next measurement from the end- stone to 
where the shoulder should be, for the balance to rest 
upon. This point being marked, the staff can be 
reversed and measurement commenced from the 
upper end-stone, by which to finish the upper end of 




86 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

the staff. Distances between the shoulders for 
pinions and arbors can be obtained with the same 
facility, a little practice being requisite. 

Staff Gauge. The tool shown in Fig. 46, the inven< 
tion of Mr. E. Beeton, is designed for measuring the 
height of the balance staff from the balance seat to 
the end of the top pivot. The illustration is enlarged 
to give more distinctness. 

E E' is a piece of curved steel about g 1 ^ of an inch 
thick, and fe of an inch wide. On the lower side 
fro E -1 to the end the arm is filed down in width and 
thickness to correspond to an ordinary balance arm; 
C is a slot in the upper arm E, which allows A, B y 
£>, A* to be moved backward and forward. D D' is 
a round brass post drilled and tapped ; the part Z>' 
has a thread cut on it, and the part shown in the slot 
C fits with easy friction. B is a locknut, drilled and 
tapped to fit the thread on D\ It is for the purpose 
of clamping D V against the arm E. A A' is a 
small steel screw with milled head, and is made to | 
fit the tapped hole in D D\ 

Mr. Beeton describes his method of using this tool 
as follows: Take your measurement of the distance, 
the balance scat is to be from the end of the top pivot, as 
follows: remove the end stone in balance cock, and 
screw the cock on the top plate, (18-size full plate 
movement) then taking the plate in your left hand, 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



*7 



and tool in your rignt, place H in position, so that 
the end of the screw A rests on the jewel in the 
balance cock, and notice the position of the arm JE' 
which corresponds to the balance arm, between the 
top plate and under side of balance cock. If the 
distance between the arm E } and end of screw A is 




Fig. 46 
too great, the arm E" will be too low and touch the 
plate; if not enough, it will be too high and touch 
the regulator pins. Therefore, all that is necessary 
to do is to move the screw A A up or down as the 
case may be, sufficiently to ensure that the arm E 1 
will assume the position the arm of the balance is to 
have. Take an iS-size balance with oversprung 
hairspring; the arm is at the bottom of the rim, in 
that case. When measuring, the screw A is adjusted 



8S WATCHMAKERS AND JEWELERS 

as to bring the arm E 1 close to the plate, when A' is 
resting on the balance jewel, if the balance is old 
style with undersprung hairspring, the balance arm 
is at top of rim, in which case A 1 is adjusted so that 
the arm E' is close to the balance cock; if the balance 
arm is in the center of the rim, as in some English 
and Swiss balances, the screw A' is adjusted so that 
the arm E' is midway between the plate and cock. / 

The reason the part A, B, Z>, A 1 is arranged to 
move laterally in slot C is because all balance shoul- 
ders are not the same distance from the center, and 
where, in some cases, the screw A 1 would be in a line 
with the center of the staff when the arm E y was 
resting on the balance seat, in other cases it would 
reach past the center, of course, short of it; and, 
therefore, it is made adjustable to suit all cases. 

Douzieme. A measuring tool having two limbs 
hinged together similar to a pair of scissors. One 
of the limbs terminates in a pointer that indicates 
upon a scale the extent to which the jaws are 
opened. The true Douzieme gauge has a scale 
divided into twelfths, though some patterns are now 
made that have a scale divided into tenths and hun- 
dreds of an inch, and again there are others that 
measure the fractions of a millimeter. This tool is 
useful for taking measurements of all kinds. For 
example, we will suppose that the watchmaker is 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 



89 



Fig. 47. 



9 o 



watchmakers' and jewelers' 



putting in a new balance staff; we will take it for 
granted that the upper part of the staff is entirely 
finished and that he is ready to find the total length 
that the staff should be. He takes the top plate with 
the balance cock and potance attached, and measures 
the distance from the top of cock hole jewel to top 
of potance hole jewel by means of this gauge. He 
places the jaw a on potance jewel and b on cock 
jewel, and notes the number on the scale that the 
pointer is opposite, which is generally 30 for an 18 
size full plate American movement. 

Drills and Drilling. Drilling may be effected in 
two ways, by rotating the drill and holding the work 
stationary, or vice versa. The most satisfactory 
results, however, are obtained by revolving the work 



/•W 



^7 



<^4 



AW 

Fig. 48. Fig. 49. F,ig. 50. Fig. 51. 

and gradually bringing the drill into contact with it. 
Although it is not always possible to do this, owing 
to the shape of the article to be drilled. A drill of 
the shape shown in Fig. 48 is preferable for drilling 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 91 

hardened steel, while the shape shown in Fig. 49 is 
best suited for drilling soft steel, brass, etc. Oil or 
glycerine diluted with alcohol, is the best lubricant 
for the softer metals, but when drilling hard steel 
turpentine should be used. Drills of the form shown 
in Fig. 50 are used for drilling flat bottomed holes, 
for countersinking screw heads, etc. The twist drill 

A I shown in Fig. 51 is desirable when drill- 

ing deeply, as this form of drill heats 
slowly and the particles are carried to 
the surface of the work. Pivot drills, 

TTT like those shown in Fig. 52, can be pur- 

chased from material dealers, mounted 

Fig. 52. on cards, and ready for use at such 

small cost that it will scarcely pay the watchmakers 
to make them. 

Drills of a form indicated by Fig. 53, are recom- 
mended highly by Saunier, and are known as semi- 
cylindrical drills. They are made ^ ^ 
from cylindrical steel rods, rounded Jjj^ % 
at their ends and filed down to a F_JL"| 'If 
trifle less than half their thickness. MM / :|| 
The length of the point should be l^f I if; iff 
greater or less according to the *®wn fiPtWill 
nature of the metal to be operated Fig. 53. 
upon, but under no circumstances must the point 
itself be sharp. This form of drill should be sharpened 



92 WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS 7 

on the round side and not on the flat surface. It 
possesses, says Saunier, the advantage that when 
placed in a drill-chuck it can be turned exactly round, 
of the required diameter and finished; so that when- 
ever replaced in the chuck, one can be certain before 
hand that the hole drilled will be of a definite 
diameter. With such a drill the hole is smoothed 
immediately after it is made by one or the other 
cutting edges. 



PART VI. 



PRACTICAL RECEIPTS. 

Gold Springs. To impart the requisite degree of 
elasticity to gold detent and balance springs, they 
should be enclosed in suitable sized steel tubes, hav. 
ing close fitting covers, and the tubes heated over an 
alcohol lamp until the steel is of a blue temper. 
Remove at this point from the flame and allow the 
whole to cool slowly. In the case of balance springs, 
they should be first coiled upon a block before insert- 
ing in the tube. 

To Soften a Spring. A spring may, be laid flat and 
its temper drawn between two plates fastened 
together by a screw through the center, and placed 
upon the annealing plate. A small piece of whitened 
steel is laid upon it, to enable the operator to judge 
of the degree of heat. ( Before opening, let it cool. 
When drawing the temper lay the coils farther apart. 

Relation of Main Spring to Barrel. If we wish to 

have a mainspring theoretically adjusted, there is no 
better method than simply to allow one third empty 
space, one-third for the barrel arbor and the remain, 
der for the spring. When a spring is at rest on the 
barrel, at either side of the arbor it should occupy 
one-sixth of the barrel's inside diameter. If we divide 

93 



94 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

a barrel into sixty equal parts, we shall always see 
the barrel arbor is just twenty of these parts. It is a 
great mistake to have a barrel arbor too small, for 
when such is the case it is almost sure to break the 
mainspring if the center is at all stubborn, as is very 
often the case with the cheap class of mainsprings in 
the market. 

To Prevent Rusty Hairsprings. Brush the outside 

of the paper parcel, containing the springs, with 
olive oil, a small quantity only 

To Remove Stains from Watch Dials. To remove 

black or cloudy stains from porcelain watch dials, 
which are generally caused by the tin boxes they 
are shipped in, wet a piece of tissue paper in nitric 
acid and wipe the dial. This will instantly remove 
them. After applying the acid the dial should be 
immediately washed thoroughly in water and then 
be dried in boxwood sawdust. 

To Remove Name from Dial. Take a little diamond 
powder made into a paste with fine oil, on the upper 
end of a copper polisher, the surface of which has 
been freshly filed and slightly rounded. On rubbing 
the marks they will be seen to rapidly disappear. 
The surface is left a little dull ; it may be rendered 
bright by rubbing with the same powder mixed with 
a greater quantity of oil, and applied with a stick of 
pegwood. Operators will do well to previously 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 95 

experiment with several degrees of fineness of the 
powder on old dials. 

TO Drill Enamel Dials. You may have to drill or 
broach holes in enamel dials. For this purpose use 
a flat ended drill or conical broach of copper, into 
which diamond powder has been hammered. A 
graver kept moistened with turpentine is sometimes 
used. The edges of the holes in dials may be 
trimmed with corundum sticks, to be obtained at 
material shops. 

To Whiten Silver Watch Dials. Flatten a piece of 

charcoal by rubbing it on a flat stone ; on this place 
the dial, face upward ; apply a gentle heat carefully 
with a blowpipe, allowing the flame to play all over 
the surface of the dial without touching it, so as to 
thoroughly heat without warping the dial. Then 
pickle and rinse, using acid enough to make the 
water very tart, immersing but for a few seconds. 
Silver watch dials may also be annealed by heating 
them red hot on a flat piece of copper over a clear 
fire. 

Fitting the Hands. If the body of the canon pinion 
will not bear turning in fitting it to the hour wheel, 
the hour wheel should be opened in the mandrel, as 
it cannot be kept true by opening the hole in the 
fingers. Fitting the hands to a watch deserves more 
care and attention than are generally given to it. 



96 WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS' 

The way hands are commonly fitted to watches is 
bad in principle. The pipe of the hour wheel is left 
too long, and that of the minute hand too short, and 
when the end shake of the hour hand is adjusted, as 
it usually is, lay the boss on the hour wheel and the 
dial, and the end shake of the center wheel affects it, 
sometimes giving it too much and bending the hour 
hand by its catching the minute hand either in set- 
ting the hands or in the going of the watch. In fit- 
ting the hands, the examiner should fit the glass, h 
to a hunting case, as high as the case will admit, 
ascertain the space available by placing a piece 01 
beeswax on the dial and pressing the glass down on 
it, and turn the canon pinion until it projects from 
the dial the height of the beeswax ; the hour wheel 
pipe should rise just perceptibly above the dial, and 
the end shake of the hour hand be adjusted by the 
the pipe of the minute hand and that of the hour 
wheel. 

Reducing Diameter of a Watch Glass. The diame- 
ter of a watch glass can be reduced by centering in 
a lathe, chucking it between two pieces of cork, or a 
pair of cork arbors, and applying a moistened piece 
of glass to the edge, or an emery stick. When the 
desired diameter is attained, polish the edge with 
pumice stone, followed by putty powder applied on 
a wet cork. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 97 

The Functions Of Oil Sinks. Oil sinks are formed 
in watch and clock plates so that, by capillary attrac- 
tion, the oil is kept close to the pivot instead of 
spreading over the plate ; and back slopes are formed 
on the arbors so that the oil may not be drawn all up 
the body of the arbor. The " attraction " is some- 
times negative and becomes a repulsion, as is the 
case with mercury in a glass tube. It is still called 
capillary, whether the fluid is raised above its natural 
level or depressed below it. 

Cutting Screw Threads. It is quite a knack to 

make a nice screw, and beginners are generally apt 
to use too much force when cutting the thread. If 
the spindle has been turned too large for the hole in 
the screw-plate there is danger of breaking the screw- 
plate, if it is over hard, and pieces will chip off; 
again, the piece to be tapped is apt to break and stop 
up the hole in the plate, thereby entailing the tedious 
job of drilling the piece out and cleaning the thread. 
It is better to begin with a hole much too large and 
work down gradually. It is natural that a certain 
amount of force must be employed, and a little prac- 
tice will soon teach the beginner how much to insure 
a full, good thread. Now, put the screw back in the 
lathe, and turn the head a little more than the 
the required thickness, and cut the screw off by 
turning a groove out. 



98 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

To Remove Broken Screws. Any one having an 

American lathe can, with small expense of time and 
labor, make a small attachment which will easily 
and quickly remove a broken screw from the plate or 
pillar of any watch. 

Take two common steel watch keys having har- 
dened and tempered pipes, size, four or five, having 
care that the squares in each are of the same size 
and of good depth. Cut off the pipes about half an 
inch from the end ; file up one of these for about half 
its length, on three equal sides, to fit one of the large 
split chucks of the lathe. Drill a hole in one of the 
brass centers of the lathe of sufficient size and depth, 
into which insert the other key-pipe, and fasten 
with a little soft solder. Soften a piece of Stubs 
wire, to work easily in the lathe, and turn down an 
eighth of an inch from the end to a size a little 
smaller than the broken screw in the plate; finish 
with a conical shoulder, for greater strength, and 
cross-file the end with a fine slot or knife-edge file, 
that the tool may not slip on the end of the broken 
screw; cut off the wire a half inch from the end, and 
file down to a square that will fit closely into one of 
the key-pipes, make a second point like the first 
one and fit to the other key- pipe, harden in oil, 
polish, and temper to a dark straw color. Fit the 
brass center into the tail stock. To use, put the tools 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 99 

in place in the lathe, place the broken end of the 
screw against the end of the point in the lathe head ; 
slide up the back center and fasten the point firmly 
against the other end of the screw, that it may not 
slip or turn; revolve the plate slowly, and the broken 
screw, being held fast between the two points, will 
be quickly removed. To remove a broken pillar 
screw: Place the broken screw against the point in 
the lathe-head, holding the plate firmly with the 
right hand, the pillar on a line with the lathe center; 
turn the lathe-head slowly backward with the left 
hand, and the screw will be removed. Should the 
tool slip on the broken screw, and fail to draw it out, 
drill a hole in the pillar from the lower or dial side, 
down to the screw point (if the size of the pillar in 
the plate will admit of so doing), and with the second 
point in the back center, remove the screw in the 
same manner as the plate screw in the first process. 
Five or six sizes of these points will be found suffi- 
cient for a majority of these breakages that may 
occur. 

Tl) Polish PiVOtS. Turn the pivots down about to 
size, grind with oilstone dust and oil, until the marks of 
the graver are removed and a smooth gray or dead- 
white surface is obtained; then polish with diaman- 
tine. The grinding and polishing are best done with 
slips of bell metal filed to shape. The polishing should 



IOO WATCHMAKERS' and jewelers' 

not be continued too long, or the surface will become 
brown and of inferior appearance. If the brown 
shows itself, the surface should again be stoned off 
and the polishing repeated 

The Size of the Cylinder Pivot. The side-shake in 

cylinder pivot holes shonld be greater than that for 
ordinary train holes; one-sixth is about the right 
amount. The size of pivot relative to the cylinder 
should be about one-eighth the diameter of the body 
of the cylinder. It is very necessary that this amount 
of side-shake should be correctly recognized ; if less 
than the amount stated, the watch, though perform- 
ing well when the oil is fresh, fails to do so when it 
commences to thicken. The only accurate way of 
getting at the correct amount of shake is to fit a pivot 
or two to a jewel hole by means of a micrometer; 
the eye will soon become capable of correctly ascer- 
taining the amount necessary. If any doubt exists, 
a round broach can be used to size the pivot hole, 
and the micometer will then decide the question. 

Shape Of Pivots. Pivots must be hard, round and 
well polished; their shoulders are to be flat, not 
too large, with ends rounded slightly off so that they 
do not wear the cap jewel. The jewel holes must 
be round, smooth and not larger than is requisite 
for the free motion of the pivot which i6 surrounded 
with oil. Their sides must be parallel to those of 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. IOI 

the pivots, so that they sustain the pressure of the 
pivot equally at all points of their length. The holes, 
if of brass or gold, must have been hammered suffi- 
ciently hard so that the pores of the metal are 
closed to prevent too rapid wear. It is well if the 
oil sinks are of a size that will accommodate a suffi- 
cient quantity of oil, which, if too little, would soon 
dry out or become thickened with the worn-off par- 
ticles of the metal. The under turnings of the pin- 
ion leaves are conical, but in such a way that the 
thicker part be nearest to the pivot, because by this 
disposition the oil is retained at the pivot by attrac- 
tion, and does not seek to spread into the pinion 
leaves, as is often the case, especially with flat 
watches in which this provision is frequently slighted. 

Friction of the Train Pivots. It is very important 

to reduce the friction of the wheel pivots to a mini- 
mum quantity, and to make it constant so that the 
motive power be transmitted with the greatest possi- 
ble uniformity to the pendulum, which is necessary 
to enable the latter to maintain its arc of oscillation 
of the same magnitude. The friction of the pivots 
is due to the pressure of the motive power and the 
weight of the wheels. The wheel work nearest the 
motive power must have strong pivots so that they 
possess sufficient resistence, neither wear the pivot 
holes to one side nor enlarge them, by which the 



102 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

friction would be increased and at the same time alter 
the true point of engagement. In tenor with the dis- 
tance of the wheels from the motive power, the 
thicknesses of their pivots must decrease because 
these latter sustain less pressure, and are subject 
to a greater velocity than the first parts. 

To Fit a Bushing. After repairing the pivot, a 
bush is selected as small as the pivot will admit. 
Open the hole of the plate or cock so that the bush, 
(which previously should be lightly draw-filed at the 
end), will stand with a slight pressure upright in the 
opened hole of the plate or cock ; then, with a knife, 
cut it across at the part where it is to be broken off 
so that it may break very readily when required to 
do so. Press it in the plate on the side the pivot 
works, break off, and then drive it home with a small 
center punch. In every repair of this nature, notice 
6hould be taken of the amount of end shake of the 
pinion, and allowance made by leaving the bush so 
that any excess may be corrected. To finish off the 
shoulder end, a small champfering tool should be used. 
It has a hole smaller than the pivot one to receive a 
fine brass wire, serving as a center to prevent the 
tool from changing its position while beiug used; or 
the wire may be put through the bush holes, and the 
hole of the tool may be left open. The above is a far 
more expeditious way than using the lathe. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. IO3 

To Measure Length of Staff. The proper way to 

measure for the length of staff is, first, to take off 
both end stones, fit the balance cock properly to the 
plate (level, etc.), and screw it fast in its place. Then, 
with the degree gauge, take the measure from the out- 
side of one hole jewel to the outside of the other one 
and to this add the amount of end shake the staff is 
to have, which gives the exact length of the staff be- 
tween the extreme ends of the pivots. The length 
should be such that when one pivot rests against its 
end stone the top pivot shall come level with the 
outer surface of its hole jewel, and the same when 
resting on the other pivot. The end shake should 
be equal to the distance from the outer surface of the 
hole jewel to the adjacent surface of its end stone 
when fastened in place. If this distance is neither 
too great or small (the jewels must not touch), the 
end shake will be correct. A safe way for length is 
to take the outside measure from the surface of the 
sink in which the bottom end stone fitting rests, to 
the top surface of the balance cock. Then, having 
screwed on one of the end stones, shorten up either 
or both pivots of the finished staff a trifle, to bring 
the top end of the other pivot level with the surface 
of its hole jewel as before explained. 

Pinion Diameter. The following are excellent 
rules for determining the correct diameter of a 



104 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

pinion by measuring teeth of the wheel that sizes into 
it. The term//*//, used below, indicates full measure 
from outside to outside of the teeth named, and the 
term center the measure from the center of one tooth 
to the center of the other tooth named, inclusive. 
For diameter of a pinion of 15 leaves measure, with 
calipers, a shade less than 6 teeth of the wheel cen- 
ter. For diameter of a pinion of 12 leaves measure 
with calipers, 5 teeth of the wheel, center. For diam- 
eter of a pinion of 10 leaves measure, with calipers 
4 teeth of the wheel, full. For diameter of a pinion 
of g leaves measure, with calipers, a little less than 4 
teeth of the wheel, full. For diameter of a pinion 
of 8 leaves measure, with calipers, a little less than 
4 teeth of the wheel, center. For diameter of a 
pinion of 7 leaves measure, with calipers, a little less 
than 3 teeth of the wheel, full. For diameter of a 
pinion of 6 leaves measure, with calipers, 3 teeth of 
the wheel, center. For diameter of a pinion of 5 
leaves measure, with calipers, 3 teeth of the wheel, 
center. As a general rule, pinions that lead', as in 
the hour wheel, should be somewhat larger than 
those that drive, and pinions of clocks should gen- 
erally be somewhat larger proportionally than 
those of watches. 

To Anneal a Staff or Pinion. It sometimes becomes 

necessary to anneal a staff or pinion, in which you 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. IO5 

wish to insert a pivot, without removing it from the 
wheel. To do this, place the whole part or end of 
the staff or pinion in a pin-vise or sliding-tongs, 
which, of course, is cold; now pierce the top of a 
brass thimble, so that.the end to be drilled will go in 
snug; then, with a blow-pipe and small spirit lamp 
throw as much heat as you wish on the article to be 
drilled, by blowing directly into the thimble, without 
in the least heating the wheel. 

To Remedy Worn Pinions. Turn the leaves or 

rollers so that the worn places upon them will be 
toward the arbor or shaft and fasten them in that 
position. If they are "rolling pinions," and cannot 
be secured otherwise, it will be better to do it with a 
little soft solder. 

To Tighten a Canon Pinion. The canon pinion 

is sometimes too loose upon the center arbor. Grasp 
the arbor lightly with a pair of cutting nippers, and 
by a single turn of the nippers around the arbor, cut 
or raise a small thread thereon. 

To Remove Rnst. The best way to remove rust 
from pinions is to scour them up with oil-stone dust 
and oil, until a smooth surface is obtained, then polish 
them with crocus. Care must be taken not to grind the 
leaves off any more than is necessary, or the proper 
shape may be destroyed. Some workmen soak the 
rusted parts in a solution of cyanide of potassium or 



106 WATCHMAKERS* AND JEWELERS' 

other solvent of oxide of iron, but the use of such 
means cannot be approved of. The way described 
is as good as any, and is safe. If the pinions are very 
badly rusted they should be rejected and others put 
in, as they will be out of shape when finished off 
smooth, and would not perform well in the watch. 

Putting Teeth into Wheels. To put in teeth in 

watch or clock wheels without dovetailing or solder- 
ing them, drill a hole somewhat wider than the 
tooth square through the plate, a little below the 
tooth. Cut from the edge of the wheel, square down 
to the hole already drilled; then flatten a piece of 
wire so as to fit snugly into the cut of the saw, and 
with a light hammer form a head on it like the head 
of a pin. When thus prepared, press the wire or 
pin into the empty space of the wheel, the head fil- 
ling the hole drilled through the plate, and then pro- 
jecting out so as to form the tooth; then with a sharp 
pointed graver cut a small groove each side of the 
pin from the edge of the wheel down to the hole, and 
with a blow of your hammer spread the face of the 
pin so as to fill the groove just cut. Repeat the 
same operation on the other side of the wheel and 
finish off in the usual way. The tooth will be found 
perfectly riveted in on every side and as strong as 
the original one, while in appearance it will be equal 
to the best dovetailed job. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. I07 

To Polish a Watch Wheel. It can be done nicely in 
the following manner : get a cork, flat on the top, and 
put into a vice; on it place the wheel, as far as the 
pinion will allow; then take a bluestone and water 
and grind the wheel smooth and flat, all the time re- 
volving it with the left hand; wash it, and put in a 
box with some slacked powdered lime. This is done 
simply for the purpose of drying it, and preventing 
the pinion from getting stained or rusty. Brush it 
out nice and clean, put another cork, clean and flat, 
in the vice, and pound some crocus on a stake. 
Some workmen add a little rouge, but this is simply 
a matter of taste. Take a slip of tin, about the size 
of a watchmaker's file, only thicker, file the end of 
one side flat and smooth, charge it with a little of the 
crocus, and polish the wheel, all the time rotating it 
with your left hand; do not cease until both wheel 
and tin polisher are almost dry, so that you can see 
the polish, when, if to your satisfaction, clean the 
wheel off with a piece of soft bread, and brush it 
out. Should it be scratched, bread it off, clean 
off the tin, and take a new supply of crocus. Clean- 
liness in this manipulation is of the greatest import- 
ance, for if there should be any grit about the crocus^ 
polisher, or the fingers of the workman, the work 
will be full of scratches. This applies simply to bar 
wheels. 



io8 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

To Bush a Wheel. A watch will frequently stop 
because a wheel is improperly centered in itself, 
whereby one side will gear too deep, the other too 
shallow, into the pinion driven by it. Such a wheel 
likely is of the proper size and has good teeth, but 
the difficulty is its proper centering, when fitted to 
its pinion. The following will be found to be an 
easy way of correction. Take a piece of lead of 
about the thickness of a silver half dollar, and clip 
and file it round so that it will fit into one of the 
larger steps in a step chuck of an American lathe. 
Screw it fast into the lathe, and while revolving, 
center and drill a hole of about the size of a winding 
arbor. Then, with a graver, turn out a recess, the 
size and a trifle more than the thickness of the 
wheel, so that it will fit in exact, with its teeth touch- 
ing the outside of the cut. Drive the wheel from its 
pinion, and broach out the center, so as to take a 
bush of sufficient length, which should be firmly 
riveted in and filed smooth on the lower side. Turn 
a small groove around the outside of the cut in the 
lead, crowd in the wheel, with a burnisher set as a 
gavel. This fixes the wheel perfectly true on the 
outside. Now center and drill, leaving a little to 
be turned and with a fine polished graver, to fit 
the same pinion. Rivet on, and your wheel is all 
right. 



PRACTICAL. HAND BOOK. IOQ 

To Grind Down Plates or Wheels. The stoning 

down of plates or wheels with emery or bluestone is 
rather a tedious job, especially for him who has much 
of it to do. It can be made easier, however, by using 
a little soap. The work is more rapidly performed 
and finer stoning is obtained. 

To Test the Qualit7 of Watch Jewels. Place the 

jewel on a piece of charcoal, and with the blow pipe 
and spirit lamp bring it to a bright cherry red. If 
the stone is perfect and of the proper density, the 
heat will not effect it; otherwise, the heat will bring 
out the imperfections, which can easily be detected 
with a double lens glass. To ascertain if a jewel hole 
is perfectly polished, place a piece of white paper on 
your work board and hold the jeweled plate about 
two inches above the paper and parallel to it, so as to 
allow the light to pass between the plate and the 
paper; shade the jewel with a small ring to prevent 
the light from reflecting from the top of the stone, 
and with your double lens glass look straight through 
the jewel hole to the paper. If it is perfectly polished 
it will appear to have a fine black ring around the 
inside of the hole. If the jewel is a ruby or a garnet, 
use black paper instead of white. 

Replace a Broken Foot Jewel. Remove the 

broken jewel from the collet or setting; place the 
collet or setting in one of your lathe chucks, large 



IIO WATCHMAKERS' AND JEWELERS' 

enough to hold the same ; start in motion, and with 
a fine pointed burnisher raise the bezel sufficient to 
receive a new jewel ; select a jewel to fit both pivot 
and setting, replace in chuck, and with a little larger 
burnisher close down the bezel on jewel, and your 
job is complete. 

Tightening Ruby Pins. If it is necessary to 

tighten a ruby pin, set it in asphaltum varnish. It 
will become hard in a few minutes, and be much 
firmer and better than in shellac, as generally used. 

To Polish Jewel Settings. A very good way to 

polish jewel settings to American watches, of brass 
or gold, is as follows : First turn the setting down 
to the right thickness, or nearly so, and then grind 
down to a gray on a ground glass slab with rotten 
stone, then clean off the oily rotten stone and 
polish on a boxwood lap with diamantine 
and oil, which gives a nice gloss. It will also give a 
nice gloss on steel, only use oil stone to gray steel 
with, instead of rotten stone. The operator should 
be particular to clean off all the graying powder in 
each case before using the boxwood lap, and be sure 
to keep the lap in a place free from grit or dust when 
not in use; brass watch wheels can be finished in the 
same way as the jewel settings by the same process. 
New Jewels. The bad action of a watch may fre- 
quently be traced to imperfect jewels. The repairer 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. Ill 

should carefully examine every jewel in a watch 
taken down for repairs, and if he finds one with the 
hole too large, or "out of round," that is, much wider 
in one direction than in another, it should be replaced 
by a good one, in the following manner: If the depth 
is correct, notice whether the jewel is above or below 
the surface of the plate; if it is either, then knock it 
out and cement the plate or bridge on a chuck in the 
lathe, being careful to get it on true, by the hole late- 
ly occupied by the jewel. By means of a burnisher 
raise the burr that holds the jewel in, and if a jewel 
can be found of the proper size and thickness, and 
the hole not too large, it can readily be "rubbed in'' 
with the burnisher; if the hole is too small, it can be 
opened. The chuck on which the article is cemented 
should have a hole from a quarter to a half an inch 
deep in its centre. If no jewels can be found of the 
right size and thickness, select one a little too large, 
enlarge the hole sufficiently to put the jewel in, and 
then proceed to fasten it. If the jewel is broken, of 
course the same remarks apply to replacing it with 
a good one. One difficulty that the watchmaker has 
to contend with, in selecting a jewel from the indif- 
ferent lot supplied by some dealers, is to find one, 
the hole of which is in the center of the jewel. If a 
jewel is not true, or rather, if the hole in it is not in 
the center, it must be cemented into a chuck in 



112 WATCHMAKERS AND JEWELERS' 

the lathe, trued up by the hole, then turned off with 
a diamond cutter, and the chamfer carefully trued 
up and polished again ; while in the lathe it can be 
tnrned down to fit the hole in the setting. The shel- 
lac is to be removed from the plate with alcohol. 
In many instances a chuck will have to be turned 
up to suit the particular job to be done. Care must 
be taken in opening, or the jewel will break or 
chip around the hole. The corners must be care- 
fully rounded by a piece of wire larger than the hole, 
the end of which is conical. It will take but a 
moment to do this, but if care is not taken too 
much will be taken off. 

To Mark Tools. Cover the part to be marked with 
a thin coating of tallow and beeswax ; with a sharp 
instrument write the name in the tallow, cutting 
clearly into it; fill the letters with nitric acid, and let 
it remain from one to ten minutes; dip in water and 
rub off, andiyou have the mark etched. 

The Rose Gutter. The rose cutter is quite a valu- 
able adjunct to a lathe, and is fixed to the spindle in 
the same manner as a chuck, and 
will be found exceedingly useful 
for quickly reducing pieces of 
wire for screws, etc., to a gauge. 
For screws, the wire should be 
Fig- 54. of a proper size for the screw 




PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. I 13 

heads, and a cutler selected with a hole the size of 
the finished screw. The point of the wire is rounded 
to enter the hole of the cutter, against which it is 
forced by the back center of the lathe, the serrated 
face of the cutter rapidly cutting away the super- 
fluous metal, the part intended for the screw passes 
into the hole in the cutter. Some care is required 
in rounding the point of the wire, for if not done 
equally all around, the screw will not be true to the 
head. 

TO Prepare Chalk. Pulverize the chalk thoroughly 
and then mix it with clean rain water, in proportions 
of two pounds to the gallon. Stir well, and then let 
it stand about two minutes. In this time the gritty 
matter will have settled to the bottom. Slowly pour 
the water into another vessel, so as not to stir up the 
sediment. Let stand until entirely settled, and then 
pour off as before. The settlings in the second ves- 
sel will be prepared chalk, ready for use as soon as 
dried. Spanish whiting, treated in the same way, 
makes a very good cleaning or polishing powder. 
Some watchmakers add a little crocus, and we think 
it an improvement; it gives the powder a nice color, 
at least, and therefore adds to its importance in the 
eyes of the uninitiated. 

To Remove Finger Marks on Gilt Clocks. Dis- 
solve cyanide of potassium, ^ oz. in x / z pint of 



114 WATCHMAKERS AND JEWELERS' 

water; paint the mark with the solution, then scratch, 
brush, finish with washing in hot water. 

Sweating of Show Windows. Take one-fourth 

pound glycerine to two and one-fourth quarts alco- 
hol, and a little essential oil; the quantity of glycer- 
ine varies according to its quality. By the composi- 
tion of the above specified ingredients, the essential 
oil is dissolved by the alcohol, and the fluid united 
■with the glycerine. It may be done at ordinary tem- 
perature, and it is not necessary to expose the mix- 
ture to heat. This is applied to the inside of the 
window. The pane is either rubbed with a clean 
linen cloth, or else the fluid mass is applied with a 
camel's hair brush, and the blind appearance of the 
glass, owing to overheating, is entirely overcome. 

To Remove Ink Stains from Silver. Silver pen 

holders and ink-stands frequently become deeply dis- 
colored with ink, and the stains are sometimes very 
difficult to remove. They may be removed by rub- 
bing the stains with a paste composed of chloride of 
lime and water. 

TO Clean Watch Cases. Very dirty or oxidized 
silver or gold watch cases can be restored by brush- 
ing them with a soft brush and a little rouge and oil. 
The case is afterward cleaned with another brush and 
a little (best is lukewarm) water and soap, and finally 
laid in alcohol to remove all traces of the soap. The 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 1 15 

case after being taken from the alcohol, is dried with 
a clean rag. It is evident that the movement and, 
if possible, the case springs, have been taken out. 
Clean dry sawdust may be used in place of alcohol; 
leave the case in it until thoroughly dry. 

To Remove Stains from Marble Gases. To remove 

stains from marble cases, clock dials, etc., take equal 
parts of fresh oil of vitriol and lemon juice; shake 
up these substances very thoroughly in a bottle, wet 
spot with the mixture, and in a few minutes after- 
ward rub with a soft linen cloth and the spots will be 
found to have disappeared. 

To Drill into Hard Steel. Make your drill oval in 
form, instead of the usual pointed shape, and temper 
as hard as it will bear without breaking ; then roughen 
the surface which you desire to drill with a little 
diluted muriatic acid, and, instead of oil, use turpen- 
tine or glycerine, in which a little gum camphor has 
been dissolved, as a lubricant. In operating, keep 
the pressure on your drill firm and steady ; and if the 
bottom of the hole should chance to become bur- 
nished, so the drill will not act, as sometimes happens, 
again roughen with diluted acid as before; then clean 
out the hole carefully and proceed again. 

To Temper Drills. Select none but the finest and 
best steel for your drills. In making them, never 
heat higher than a cherry red, and always hammer 



Il6 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

till nearly cold. Do all your hammering in one 
way, for if, after you have flattened out your piece, 
you attempt to hammer it back to a square or round, 
you will ruin it. When your drill is in proper shape, 
heat it to a cherry red and thrust it into a piece of 
resin or into mercury. Some use a solution of cyanu- 
ret of potassia and rain water for tempering their 
drills, but the resin or mercury will give better re- 
sults. 

TO Drill Pearls. The easiest way to hold pearls, 
in order to drill and otherwise cut them, is to fit 
them loosely in holes bored in a piece of wood. A 
few drops of water sprinkled about the holes causes 
the wood fibres to swell and hold the pearls firmly. 
When the wood dries they fall out. 

To Clean Pearls. Soak them in warm water in 
which bran has been boiled, with a little salts of tar- 
tar and alum, rubbing gently between the hands. 
When the water is cold, renew the operation until 
the discoloration is removed; rinse in luke warm 
water, and lay the pearls in white paper in a dark 
place to cool and dry. 

To Renovate Bronze. Bronze may be renovated and 
re- colored by mixing one part of muriatic acid and 
two parts of water. Free the article from all grease 
and dirt and apply the acid with a cloth. When dry 
polish it with beeswax or sweet oil. 



PRACTICAL HAND BOOK. 117 

To Separate Silver from Copper. Mix sulphuric 

acid, 1 part; nitric acid, 1 part; water, 1 part. Boil 
the metal in the mixture until it dissolves, then 
throw in a little salt, which will cause the silver to 
deposit. 

To Frost Watch Caps and Plates. Take two and 

one-half parts nitric acid, and two parts muriatic 
acid, full strength. Dip in the articles for a few 
seconds, rinse in clear water, scratch brush with a 
circular motion, then gild. 

To Frost Watch Plates. Watch plates are frosted 
by means of line brass wire scratch brushes fixed in 
a lathe, and made to revolve at great speed, the end 
of the wire brushes striking the plate producing a 
beautiful appearance; or, sink that part of the move- 
ment to be frosted for a short time into a mixture of 
nitric acid, muriatic acid and table salt, one ounce of 
each. On removing from the acid, place it in a 
shallow vessel containing enough sour beer to nearly 
cover it, then with a fine scratch brush scour thor- 
oughly, letting it remain under the beer during the 
operation. Then wash off, first in pure water and 
then in alcohol. Gild or silver in accordance with 
any receipt. 

To Take Spots Off Gilding. Boil common alum in 
soft, pure water and immerse the article in the solu- 
tion, or rub the spot with it and dry with sawdust. 



n8 watchmakers' and jewelers' 

Imitation Patina. Mix carbonate of copper and 
any light alcoholic varnish and apply to the object 
with a brush. This paint will penetrate the smallest 
recesses of bronze objects, and when dry has the 
appearance of patina. Carbonate of copper gives a 
blue patina, vertigris a light green and intermediate 
shades may be produced by mixing the two. 



Gold and Silver Refiners and Assayers. 




SWEEP SMELTERS. 



S. W. Cor. Hal soy and Marshall Streets, 



NEWARK, IN. J 



GOLD AND SILVER ASSAYING IN ALL ITS BRANCHES. 

Correspondence Solicited. Letters promptly answered. 



VANDERCOOK & CO 
ENQRdV ERS __ 

407-425 Dearborn St. 
CHICAGO, U. S. A. 




Size 00. Wood Engraving 
This Size $4.00. 



PORTRAITS MADE ANY SIZE 



... from photographs ... Half Tone. Engraved from a 
Photograph. This Size, $5.00. 

3 METHODS 
Wood Engraving, Zinc Engraving, Half -Tone Process. 

ENGRAVINGS of Buildings, Landscapes, Portraits and all 
kinds of Illustrations, at lowest possible rates, either 
on" Wood." "Photo-Engraved," or by our " Half-Tone 
Engraving," according to the nature of the subject. 

VANDERCOOK &. CO., ENGRAVERS, 

407-425 Dearborn Street. CHICAGO. 



USE 
THE 



American Mainsprings 

FOR ALL KINDS OF AMERICAN WATCHES. 

All springs without this trademark •£/&%/*' on them 
are imitations. Buy only the genuine and look for the trade 
mark ■ ^^^^> ~ on each spring. The well-known reputation 
of the « ^^/yr^> Spring, for which we have had the sole 
agency for the United States for 3S years, has induced others to 
sell an imitation as being "equally as good" as the "Robert 
Spring," but which are of an inferior quality. There is but One 
"CHAELES EQBEET SPEIN 2" None others equal it in finish or temper. 

L. H. KELLER 6, CO., 

Dealers in Fine Watch Materials and Tools, 

64 NASSAU ST., NEW YORK. 



Agents for the Patek Philippe & Co., Watches. 




One-Sixth Size of No. 2. 

You will notice the manufacturers of Watchmakers' 
Lathes, the good, the bad and indifferent, all claim 
to make the best. If true 'tis strange; 'tis strange 
if true. The word best seems to have lost its true 
meaning. We claim* to make one of the Best, of the 
very Best. Can anyone claim more? When interested 
write your jobber for new list, or the manufacturers. 

MOSELEY &. CO., 

Elgin, III. 




Full Size No. 2. 



Parsons' Horological Institute, 

FEORld, ILL. 

THE PIONEER SCHOOL. 

The First. The Largest. The Best. 




Formerly of La Porte, Ind. but now of 

PEORIA, ILL. 

By this change we have enlarged our facilities. 

No other school in the world has so 

many advantages. 

Send for Circulars giving terms and mention The American Jeweler. 





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CHICAGO WATCHMAKERS INSTITUTE. 

Rooms 1590-1591, Masonic Temple, 

CHICHGO. 



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fill Braises of U/atel? U/orK 

Engraving, Jewelry Work and Optics Taught Scien- 
tifically and Practically. Write for Terms. 



FOOT POWER LATHES 

For Electrical and Experimental Work. For Jew- 
elers and Watchmakers. For Gunsmiths and 
Tool Makers. For General Machine Shop Work. 




High grade tools; elegant in design, superior in 
construction. The best foot power lathes made, and 
quality considered, the cheapest. 



SEND FOR CATALOGUE AND PRICES. 



W. F. & JNO. BARNES CO 

984 Ruby Street, ROCKFORD, ILL. 



- CHICAGO - 

QoIIe<£e of J-lorolo<£y, 



Incorporated 1888. Re-Organized 1890. 



The most practically equipped in America, and 
giving the most thorough course of instruction in 
Watch and Clock Making, Repairing, Engraving 
and the general branches connected with the above. 

You can learn Watchmaking, Repairing and 
Engraving so you can do first class work, which we 
guarantee. 

All students that attended this College are hold- 
ing A i positions. 

We guarantee you the best, at moderate cost. 



WRITE FOR PROSPECTUS. 

C. K. HAET, Supt. 



785 W. Madison St., 
CHICAGO 



ASK YOUR JOBBERS FOR THE 

CHAMPION 




JEWELRY WASH. 



FOR CLEANING 

Diamonds, Foilback and any kind of Solid Gold and 

Gold Plated or Gilt Jewelry. 

Warranted not to contain any acid. Always ready 
for use. Pays a good profit to sell to your customers. 

Put up in 4 and 8 oz. bottles, also by the gallon in 
bulk. 



FACTORY AT 



344 WABASH AVE., CHICAGO. 












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